Dana White may use fighting words, but don’t expect him to fight Eddie Hearn or anyone else.
White and Hearn have traded barbs since the UFC boss entered the boxing industry with TKO. The creation of Zuffa Boxing has led to some interesting moves, such as the signing of Conor Benn, who had worked with Hearn for a decade.
In the midst of the back-and-forth verbal exchanges, White has used some strong words to describe Hearn, but he appears to be backing down when it comes to an actual boxing match between the two. During the UFC Winnipeg post-fight press conference, White said he has no interest in fighting the Matchroom Boxing head honcho (via MMAFighting).
“Listen, Eddie says a lot of dumb sh*t,” White said. “I’m getting used to it. Eddie said me and him are the biggest fight in boxing. Therein lies the problem with boxing. And the fact that a fight promoter who’s actually put on big fights and had a stable of big fighters would say something that f*cking stupid is starting to not be as shocking as it was in the beginning.
“You’re a f*cking bum. I’m old. And we don’t even deserve to be on the card with a bunch of real fighters.”
Hearn took a shot at White during the Ben Whittaker vs. Braian Suarez post-fight presser, and said he’d absolutely share the ring with White.
“So when he called me out and he keeps calling me a p*ssy, right? I just said, ‘Listen, p*ssy, if I’m a p*ssy, come and show me I’m a p*ssy.’ So you called me out for a fight? I accept. And now he’s going, ‘Well, I’m 57 years old.’ I said, ‘No, you told me you wouldn’t do it and I’m a p*ssy, so what are you? An old p*ssy?
“Listen, it’s good fun, isn’t it? But I would genuinely do it.”
White and Hearn were once cordial with both men exchanging pleasantries over successful business models. Now that the two are rivals in the boxing promotion space, the gloves are off.
Do you think Dana White is backpeddling by shutting down a future fight with Eddie Hearn? Share your opinion in the comments below.