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Fury-Joshua Was Just Announced. Now Dana White Is Putting the Fight in Jeopardy
Dana White has forced himself inbetween the Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury fight putting the entire event in jeopardy. Two days after Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s fight was announced, Fury says it could fall apart. Joshua’s camp is pushing back, people close to his team say they still expect him to fight and have no plans to pull out. For now, the December 11 date in Cardiff remains on the books.
Fury made his claim in an Instagram video on Saturday, accusing Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn of trying to withdraw. “Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are trying to pull out of this fight,” he said. Fury blamed Hearn’s “ego” and claimed Turki Alalshikh was looking for alternative opponents. Those are Fury’s allegations, not a confirmed cancellation. The people close to Joshua’s camp who disputed them spoke anonymously.
Two Days After Fury-Joshua Announcement, Dana White Dispute Takes Centre Stage
At the centre of the argument is Dana White. Netflix’s announcement says Alalshikh’s The Ring and White “will collaborate to promote” the fight. Hearn says White cannot be involved in its promotion under Joshua’s contract. “Netflix clearly didn’t get the memo,” Hearn told iFL TV. It is an awkward detail to discover in a fight announcement, though Hearn says the contract should settle it.
Tyson Fury says he personally removed the part of the contract that said Dana White couldn’t be involved in the Anthony Joshua fight 👀
“It was in my contract, but I took it out. F*ck ‘em. I want him involved. Two baldies together. I like Dana. Good business man and good guy.” pic.twitter.com/7GLNV3ZCnn
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) September 25, 2026
Fury has taken the opposite position. In an interview published Friday, he said his own contract had contained language barring White and TKO from involvement, but that he had it removed. “I want him involved,” Fury said, adding that he likes White and thinks he could do well in boxing. His account of Joshua’s contract came with a qualifier and the contracts themselves have not been made public.
This is all ridiculous but can somebody explain to me WHY Dana White should be involved in promoting Fury-Joshua.
Make it make sense for it to be as complicated as it has been.
— Andreas Hale (@AndreasHale) September 25, 2026
That leaves Fury’s claim in dispute as AJ’s team says he is ready to fight, even as the two sides argue over Dana White’s place in the promotion. White has said he is working on Alalshikh’s side, not for either boxer. But Netflix’s announcement went further, saying White and Alalshikh’s The Ring would “collaborate to promote” the event, the wording Hearn objects to. Fury says he removed a restriction on White from his own contract; Hearn says Joshua’s contract still rules White out. If everyone says the fighters are signed, the question is whether White’s role can be defined in a way both camps will accept.
White’s involvement had already become a sore point during the venue talks. He pushed for Fury and Joshua to fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden and said he had worked on staging it there. Hearn objected, arguing that Joshua’s agreement required a UK fight and that White had no authority to make the venue deal. Cardiff eventually won out, but the argument over White’s role followed the fight across the Atlantic.
White, meanwhile, is hardly staying quiet. Asked about Hearn’s objection, he told Sky Sports the announcement “speaks for itself” and said he had expected to be involved throughout the talks. “Who’s going to stop me?” he asked. White also said he was working on Alalshikh’s side rather than for either boxer. That leaves a practical question unresolved: what role can White have at the event without crossing the line Hearn says Joshua’s deal draws?
This is not the first contractual argument surrounding the bout. Fury, 38, and Joshua, 36, signed agreements for a 2026 fight in April, but their teams then spent months negotiating where it would happen. Joshua’s side held to a provision requiring a UK venue.
Max Kellerman on the broadcast: “Dana White’s involvement in the fight, so people know, is purely in assisting Turki Alalshikh, who has been the engine behind just about every big fight in boxing over the last handful of years. He’s assisting Turki in a personal capacity, not as…
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 26, 2026
Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, has said Fury accepted the British location to get the fight made. Thursday’s announcement finally put both fighters at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Friday, December 11. Netflix says it will stream their first professional meeting live worldwide at no extra cost to members.
A September 30 press conference is scheduled, while the undercard and start time have yet to be announced. The December event is still advertised; the dispute over White’s involvement, and whether it can be resolved without affecting the fight, remains open.