White doubts Fury-Joshua after 24 hours of chaos
Dana White questions the certainty of the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fight in Cardiff amid contract disputes and 24 hours of boxing drama.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua were announced to fight in Cardiff on December 11.
- UFC president Dana White has cast doubt on whether the bout will actually happen.
- Eddie Hearn claims Joshua's contract explicitly bars White and TKO from promoting.
- Netflix and promoter Turki Alalshikh initially confirmed the global streaming event.
Just two days after an announcement British boxing waited a decade for, fresh uncertainty has emerged over the scheduled showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on December 11, which was set to stream globally on Netflix.
By Friday, that certainty had unravelled rapidly. A bitter dispute over who holds the promotional rights for the event triggered claims of contractual breaches, discussions regarding potential replacement fights, and a fresh flurry of cryptic social media posts from key figures.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The blockbuster fight announcement was presented as a collaboration involving Saudi powerbroker Turki Alalshikh's The Ring and Dana White through Zuffa Boxing. While White's involvement had been heavily hinted at for weeks, Eddie Hearn vehemently insisted he would not be part of it, claiming Joshua's contract prohibits White and TKO from having any promotional role.
Behind-the-scenes turf wars over promotion rights are a common hurdle in mega-fights, especially when cross-industry giants like UFC management and streaming platforms like Netflix intersect with traditional boxing promoters. Resolving these legal nuances before the scheduled press conference remains a critical challenge for all parties involved.
Hearn stated that Netflix was unaware of the restriction and that contractual breaches must be resolved. Conversely, Fury noted a similar restriction was removed from his own contract because he wanted White involved, while Frank Warren took a more pragmatic view, acknowledging White's role in securing the Netflix partnership.
"I think Tyson will knock Joshua out"
Dana White
The tension escalated on Friday evening with reports suggesting alternative fights for December 11 were already under discussion, including Ryan Garcia against recently retired champion Terence Crawford, though Crawford publicly expressed surprise at the suggestion.
Source: BBC Sport
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