Clash of Promoters
The tension between Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn and UFC CEO Dana White shows no signs of cooling. Once on friendly terms, the pair have sparred publicly since White began promoting his own boxing events under the Zuffa banner. At a recent press conference, White criticized Hearn, claiming he lacked vision and was simply following in his father Barry Hearn’s footsteps.
Hearn responded to these comments in an interview with The Stomping Ground, dismissing White’s claims and questioning the quality of Zuffa’s events.
Hearn Questions White’s Vision
“It’s very strange… Dana has always been complimentary about us, but to say I don’t have vision is quite odd,” Hearn said. He then critiqued Zuffa’s recent boxing cards, pointing out low attendance and poor event presentation.
“Getting Max Kellerman to hype Callum Walsh as the next Roy Jones or putting Charles Martin on a headline show with 126 people in a garage-like venue… that’s not vision, that’s control,” Hearn said. “They can’t compete in the cutthroat world of boxing—they’re trying to create their own world.”
Hearn also took aim at the quality of Zuffa events compared to Matchroom’s, calling them “complete dogs**t” and criticizing the promotion for misleading fans about fighter matchups.
Addressing Personal Jabs
Hearn didn’t hold back when responding to White’s comments about him working for his father. “Yes, I work for my dad. But Dana worked for the Fertitta brothers for years. Now he’s got a new daddy, Turki Alalshikh. It took him no time to get personal because, right now, he’s at the bottom of the pile in terms of quality as a boxing promoter,” Hearn said.
Despite the harsh words, Hearn acknowledged that Zuffa is a capable operation that will likely improve over time. The ongoing feud between the two heavyweights of fight promotion suggests that fans can expect more public clashes in the weeks to come.
