Eddie Hearn fires back at Dana White and takes aim at UFC chief
Eddie Hearn has once again hit back at Dana White after the UFC president claimed he had been involved in two of the three biggest fights in the history of boxing
Eddie Hearn has once again fired back at Dana White's assertion that he has been involved in two of the three biggest fights in boxing history.
The UFC chief first ventured into boxing in 2017 and played a major role in Conor McGregor's bout with Floyd Mayweather. Eight years on, the American promoted Terence Crawford's undisputed super-middleweight clash with Canelo Alvarez.
Prior to Saturday night's event, White responded to Hearn after the latter claimed that the UFC boss wouldn't "come into boxing and steamroll the game." White hit back at Hearn's remarks, declaring: "I've been part of two of the three biggest fights ever in the history of boxing. Suck on that one, boys," reports All Out Fighting.
McGregor's encounter with Mayweather stands as the second-most successful pay-per-view in boxing history - with a reported 4.3m buys in America. After Crawford's battle with Alvarez, Netflix announced it was the 'most-viewed men's championship boxing match' of this century. It is estimated that approximately 41.4 million viewers watched the fight. In a recent chat with Ariel Helwani, Hearn was swift to acknowledge Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh.
READ MORE: Ricky Hatton's heartbreaking message about how he wanted to be remembered days before deathREAD MORE: Ricky Hatton's huge fortune revealed - exactly who will inherit sum after tragic death"If you really want to come into boxing and call Mayweather McGregor one of the biggest fights of all time, please," Hearn said. "It was an exhibition. It's not a fight. And by the way, Crawford vs. Canelo was not Dana White's fight. It was Turki Alalshikh's fight, and he was invited to be the promoter.
"Well done. Good. Well played. I'm sure you made a few quid, but let's not get it twisted. The work that Turki Alalshikh has done in boxing paved the way for Canelo vs. Crawford. Without Turki, Canelo vs. Crawford never would have happened. In fact, it wouldn't have even been a fight that Dana White would have considered or thought of making."
Crawford proceeded to shock Alvarez by securing a historic points triumph in Las Vegas. Many believed this bout would never materialise, but Alalshikh - since entering the boxing world - has been determined to deliver spectacular events for fight fans. Despite acknowledging White's contribution, Hearn believes the Saudi boxing supremo deserves the lion's share of recognition.
"So well done to Dana," he continued. "Well done to TKO, but let's give the credit of Canelo vs. Crawford to Turki Alalshikh, the man that truly paid up for the fight, the man that truly had the vision for two generational greats to meet in a ring. Because I didn't believe that fight could get made. He went out and made it.
"And yep, Dana turned up and sat in the front row and went to the press conference. But, you know, if you're taking credit for Mayweather vs. McGregor and a fight that ultimately someone else paid for, there's a long way to go."
When is the next boxing event?
Oscar Collazo and Jayson Vayson are gearing up for a thrilling face-off on Saturday night, set to take place at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio. The main undercard is expected to kick off around 2am Sunday morning UK time (9pm ET / 8pm CT / 6pm PT).
In the headline event, Vayson is likely to make his entrance first, approximately at 4am Sunday morning UK time (11pm ET / 10pm CT / 8pm PT). Fans can catch all the live action on DAZN, which will be broadcasting the fight in over 200 countries via a DAZN subscription.
