Eddie Hearn: Dana White, Zuffa locked out of Joshua-Fury fight

Tyson Fury's contract to fight Anthony Joshua does not lock the heavyweight superfight to a U.K. venue, but Joshua's deal does — and Eddie Hearn says Dana White and Zuffa Boxing are barred from promotional involvement regardless of where the bout lands.

Hearn told BoxingScene on Friday that Joshua's signed agreement with Saudi financier Turki Alalshikh stipulates the fight must take place exclusively in the U.K., while Fury's parallel contract leaves the location open. Both deals, however, name Hearn and Frank Warren as promoters of record and explicitly exclude Zuffa from any role. "Specifically in the contract it says Dana White, Zuffa cannot have any promotional involvement in the show," Hearn said after the weigh-in for Jesse Rodriguez's bantamweight title defense in Arizona. "Dana doesn't know about the contract for the show that we signed and negotiated."

White's claims vs. contractual reality

White told reporters last week that he would be promoting Joshua-Fury and hinted the bout might leave British soil, possibly for Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas or SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Hearn said any venue change would require fresh negotiations with Joshua's camp, noting that the original agreements were signed with the expectation of a U.K. site. "If Turki Alalshikh wants to hold the fight in another country, that's not necessarily a problem, but contractually he cannot do that," Hearn said, per BoxingScene. "So we'd have to go through a new process, start a new negotiation and make sure that's good with Anthony Joshua."

Alalshikh, who owns 60 per cent of Zuffa Boxing, has final say on purse distribution and logistics but cannot unilaterally override the promotional exclusions already inked. Hearn said White is doubling down on his public stance because backtracking would undercut Zuffa's credibility at a moment when the fledgling boxing arm is drawing legal fire from rivals including Boxxer's Ben Shalom, who has sent cease-and-desist letters over alleged poaching of fighters and staff.

Joshua meets Kristian Prenga on July 25, with Fury scheduled for an August 1 tune-up in Dublin before the two heavyweights collide later in the year.

Source: boxingscene.com