Eddie Hearn vs. Dana White. In all seriousness, would anyone really watch the two promoters, separated in age by a decade, slug it out in the ring? A matchup between fighters, like it happened two years ago when Hearn’s stable faced off against Frank Warren’s, appears more reasonable. But Hearn vs. White? The American remains skeptical.
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“Eddie Hearn’s a pu–y. Eddie Hearn ain’t boxing anybody,” he said recently. “F–king posting pictures of himself hitting the f–king speed bag. It looks like it’s in slow motion. Yeah, Eddie Hearn. And let me tell you what, if that did happen, me and Eddie Hearn are bums. We would be the first fight of the night.”
The remarks only intensified the ongoing rivalry between the two sides. But the Englishman disagrees. Open to the idea, Eddie Hearn said a fight with Dana White has the potential to fetch a $60 million bounty.
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“It (the bout) would go to the main event on probably Netflix,” he told Kugan Cassius. “It would generate; it’s probably the biggest fight out there right now, other than AJ against Fury.”
That comment led the iFL TV founder to question Hearn on the claim of 1 million buys. In response, the Matchroom boss insisted the fight would be straightforward for him. He has been training hard every day and is ready for the test.
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As the conversation moved from hype to structure, Cassius pressed Dana White‘s earlier claim that Hearn wouldn’t dare step in the ring with him. Hearn instead shifted the focus to how the fight could be built financially.
“You put 50/50 in a pot, right?” he added. “I know they’re not used to this model, but we’ll split the revenue with the fighters, me and him. 50/50. A broadcaster wants to come in; they can take 10 or 15% of the pay-per-view. Eat what you kill. We’ll make 10 million, 40, 60, 70. We’ll make 30 million each for the fight. I’m in.”
Eddie Hearn vs. Dana White: The real fight isn’t in the ring
Whatever the financial discussion, the underlying reality remains unchanged. The fight is unlikely to happen, despite Hearn continuing to insist he would step in if it ever came together.
Still, the exchange highlights how clearly the lines are now drawn between the two promoters. That divide has been building for months. Since White entered the boxing world, a public back-and-forth has developed between the two, gradually shifting from commentary to direct competition.
White has already made moves inside that space, bringing two of Matchroom’s most prominent names – Jai Opetaia and Conor Benn – into his orbit. More recently, by adding Edgar Berlanga and Richardson Hitchins, he has continued signing fighters linked to Hearn’s broader network.
In response, Hearn made his own countermove when he signed a commercial and advisory deal with the UFC’s reigning heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall.
Reports, which White has also alluded to, suggest that Hearn attempted to open communication, likely in search of a truce. But nothing materialized. In a recent interview with Cigar Talk’s Naji Chill, Hearn also spoke about White and his team’s alleged attempts to target Anthony Joshua.
If not inside the ring, the rivalry between the two leading promoters is increasingly playing out outside it. And with White’s Zuffa planning a packed schedule – targeting over 40 shows a year and continuing to bring in notable names – the competition between the two camps is only expected to intensify.
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Edited by
Gokul Pillai