Eddie Hearn has heard enough. And on Tuesday, he made sure everyone knew it.
In a wildly entertaining interview with IFLTV and a follow-up appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the Matchroom Boxing chairman unloaded on Dana White across two separate interviews in the span of hours, formally accepting the UFC boss’s challenge, laying out the financial terms he believes the fight would command, and predicting a knockout.
The back-and-forth between the two promoters has escalated rapidly since the launch of Zuffa Boxing, and White’s post-UFC 327 press conference last weekend poured gasoline on the fire. Speaking to media in Miami, White unloaded on his rival with characteristic bluntness.
“Eddie Hearn’s a p***y. Eddie Hearn ain’t boxing anybody, f***ing posting pictures of himself hitting the speed bag. It looks like it’s in slow motion,” White said. “Let me tell you what. If that did happen, me and Eddie Hearn are bums. We would be the first fight of the night. These guys are talking like we’re gonna headline a card.”
Hearn, appearing on IFLTV, had a very different view of the card placement.
“He called me a p***y and it would be the start of the night. No it f***ing wouldn’t! It will go main event on probably Netflix,” Hearn said. “And if you generate… it’s probably the biggest fight out there right now other than AJ.”
The interviewer pressed him on the pay-per-view potential, pointing to Hearn’s own previous statements about what a White fight would draw. Hearn didn’t hesitate.
“You said right categorically, you’ve said this in one of my interviews, that he does 1 million buys minimum. Are you being serious? 1 million buys easy. EASY,” Hearn said. “So does Dana, who’s obviously clued up about that, think this would go the first fight of the night? I don’t know what he’s going on about.”
The Financial Framework
More than just lobbing insults back, Hearn laid out a specific financial structure for the fight, treating the hypothetical matchup like any other major promotion he’d put together.
“You put 50-50 in the pot. I know they’re not used to this model, but we’ll split the revenue. Me and him, 50-50,” Hearn said. “A broadcaster wants to come in, they can take 10 or 15 percent of their pay-per-view. Eat what you kill. We’ll make $30 million each for a fight.”
The number is far north of what has apparently been offered so far. Hearn referenced a $10 million per side figure that had been floated and dismissed it as “well off the mark.” He also acknowledged that Turki Alalshikh has been involved in discussions behind the scenes, though no formal offer had landed on his desk.
“He reckons Turki’s put in some sort of, not an offer. He hasn’t made me an offer yet,” Hearn said. “A bit disappointing. That’s a bit abandoned from Dana White, surely, isn’t it?”
White confirmed as much at the UFC 327 presser, telling reporters, “You don’t think Turki would try to do that fight? Of course he did. People are throwing around offers everywhere.”
“I Think I’ll Knock Him Out”
If the IFLTV interview provided the financial framework, Hearn’s appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday provided the knockout prediction.
“He keeps calling me a p***y, but I’m like, let’s see if I’m a p***y,” Hearn told Helwani. “I mean, we’d make $30 million each. What does he think, I’m an easy touch? I’m very limited, but I’ll have a proper go. I’ll get myself in good shape. I’m a big lump, and I think I’ll knock him out.”
Then, in what may have been the most honest and self-aware moment of the entire media blitz, Hearn acknowledged the other possible outcome with remarkable cheerfulness.
“But also, if I get knocked out and make $30 million, it’s not the saddest day in the world, and people would probably find it quite amusing,” he said. “I’m quite excited about it now. I’m going to go hit the gym after this call.”
The formal acceptance was as direct as it gets.
“He called me out, I accept. I’m in. Let’s find out who the real p***y is,” Hearn said. “Stick me in, put my name down, find me a pair of shorts and I’ll travel.”
“I’m Ready”
Back on the IFLTV interview, Hearn had already been building the case for his own readiness with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. White had mocked the speed bag footage that Hearn posted while training at Oleksandr Usyk’s camp in Spain, and Hearn took it personally.
“We saw your speed bag as well, said it was slow motion. Honestly, him and his people, cheeky bastards,” Hearn said before launching into what can only be described as a full scouting report on himself. “I’m training every day. I’m ripped to shreds. F***ing blistering hand speed. Unbelievable. And I’m ready.”
The Matchroom boss then pivoted into full Essex mode, referencing his amateur boxing background with obvious relish.
“Do you reckon Dana doesn’t know anything about Eddie Hearn, the Ice Man from Billericay? Lake Meadows, 4 and 0, four by way of,” Hearn said, grinning. “Do you reckon Dana White can survive a cold night in Brentwood High Street? Do you reckon?”
When the IFLTV interviewer jokingly offered to call Mike Tyson as a potential opponent, Hearn used it as the perfect setup to drive his point home.
“So I wanna fight Mike Tyson, doesn’t mean it’s gonna f***ing happen,” Hearn said. “But Mike Tyson never called you out. In fact, Mike Tyson don’t even f***ing know who you are, mate.” He paused just long enough to land the punchline. “He called me out for a fight, said I wouldn’t fight him, and I’m telling you I will fight you. And I’m telling you, I will batter him. Calm down. Put some respect on my name.”
More Than a Joke, Less Than a Contract
What makes the Hearn-White dynamic so unusual is that it sits in genuine no-man’s land between promotional theater and real animosity. Their relationship, once friendly, deteriorated sharply after White signed Conor Benn away from Matchroom to Zuffa Boxing for a reported $15 million. Hearn responded by recruiting UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to his newly formed Matchroom Talent Agency. The shots have been personal ever since.
White has maintained that if the fight ever happened, it should open a card, not headline one, and that at 56 years old he has no business being in a ring. But he has also stopped short of definitively shutting the door, confirming that real offers have been discussed and that Alalshikh has been actively trying to make it happen.
Hearn, 10 years younger at 46 and significantly taller, appears to be the one pushing harder. His closing argument on IFLTV leaned into the absurdity while somehow still sounding halfway serious.
“Imagine a travelling army from Essex, 20,000 strong, over to Vegas,” Hearn said. “I’ve documented it. I’ve trained my bollocks off as well. I’m ready. I’m f***ing ready.”
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