Dana White had his first huge night as a boxing promoter on Saturday when he took the reins of the bout between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
As ‘Bud’ emerged victorious, becoming the undisputed super middleweight champion in the process, White was sat ringside alongside Turki Alalshikh. However, this is seemingly just the beginning of the UFC promoter’s boxing venture.
Although it is currently unclear what White’s Zuffa Boxing journey will look like, Eddie Hearn is welcoming the MMA promoter into the sport.
IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
Hearn has been perhaps the most notable promoter in boxing throughout the 21st century as his Matchroom Boxing promotion contains world champions from all over the globe.
Although Hearn has gone against the likes of Frank Warren and Ben Shalom in the past, White coming into the boxing world could shake things up for the English promoter. However, this is not something that concerns the Englishman.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Hearn was asked about his relationship with White following the conclusion of Alvarez vs Crawford on Saturday night. “Our relationship is good, I’ve never had any kind of falling out with Dana,” Hearn said.
Hearn went on to praise the abilities of White as a promoter, before welcoming competition between them. “You can’t expect me, and guy who is extremely competitive, to not want to roll up my sleeves and see who’s the best in boxing.”
“I believe I’m head and shoulders above everybody as a promoter,” Hearn added. “Call that delusion, call that arrogance, or call that the truth.”
The Matchroom Boxing promoter said he was ‘excited’ at the thought of going toe-to-toe with White, and that there would never be any disrespect from his side towards the UFC president.
Hearn said he expects White to want to ‘dominate’ the sport of boxing, as opposed to being a bystander. But Hearn added that White’s venture into boxing is beneficial to him. “It’s good for me in many ways. It’s good for me personally to have that competition, it’s good for my profile if it’s Eddie vs Dana, and I’m more than happy for that strapline.”
“If he really has ambitions to dominate the sport, then it is going to be me and him, duking it out… He probably believes he can dominate boxing, dominate me, and I feel the same.”
–Â Eddie Hearn
Hearn finished his point by saying, “In a pleasant way, let battle commence.”
White’s Zuffa Boxing promotion is understood to have its shows starting in 2026.
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