Dana White's Zuffa Boxing Pushes Fury-Joshua Toward America — and Eddie Hearn Isn't Happy About It
The fight Britain has craved for a decade is sliding across the Atlantic. Eddie Hearn says Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua is now likely to be staged in America, pushed there by the new promotional force on the boxing landscape: Zuffa Boxing, fronted by Dana White.
Zuffa Boxing is jointly owned by Sela and TKO Group Holdings, the parent company behind the UFC. TKO serves as managing partner, with White among the promotion's executive leaders. According to Hearn, TKO and Zuffa have been working to convince Turki Alalshikh — the Saudi figure who has bankrolled much of boxing's recent boom — that Fury-Joshua belongs on American soil rather than in a British stadium. BBC Sport
Hearn's frustration is plain. He argues that staging the fight in Britain matters for the sport at every level — for professional boxing, for amateur clubs, and for the kids who would watch the biggest fight of their lifetimes in their own country. He points to Anthony Joshua's deep roots in British boxing: Olympic gold at London 2012, a World Championship on home soil, a career built in front of British crowds. BBC Sport
But Hearn also concedes the obvious. "Everybody else involved wants the fight in America," he said earlier this month, describing the difficulty of getting the bout done in the UK. His tone has shifted from resistance to reluctant acceptance over the summer. Yahoo Sports, Bad Left Hook
Fury himself has addressed White's involvement directly — and in characteristically theatrical fashion. He invited the UFC boss to join his side for the fight, a call-out that adds another layer of promotional theatre to an already crowded negotiating table. BBC Sport
BBC Sport contacted TKO Group Holdings for comment on the matter. No response has been reported.
The backdrop is a fighter who, in early 2026, announced he was coming out of retirement without naming a single opponent. Fury's promoter, Frank Warren, said in May that the former champion wants an interim fight — a warm-up bout before the Joshua showdown. Since then, Fury has used his Instagram to mock Joshua, tease a massive announcement, and even hint at a third fight with Oleksandr Usyk after allegedly fighting Joshua. AP News, Reuters
Both men are crossover stars — household names who transcended boxing long ago. Joshua rebuilt his profile through heavyweight title reigns and high-profile sponsorships; Fury became a global personality through two-decade dominance and a flair for self-promotion that fills social media feeds between fights.
What gives this particular tug-of-war its edge is the new player at the table. Dana White entering boxing through Zuffa — backed by TKO's corporate muscle and Sela's capital — introduces a promotional machine with no tradition of deference to British boxing's established order. If Fury-Joshua goes to Las Vegas or New York, it will not be because British fans stopped caring. It will be because the deal made more sense to the people writing the cheques.
Hearn knows that. That is precisely why he is saying it out loud.
