Dana White’s most outspoken rival Eddie Hearn had just watched his fighter Jaron Ennis dismantle Xander Zayas in seven rounds at Barclays Center, which forced him to rush to the local hospital for further precautionary evaluation.
Fueled by the victory, Hearn skipped the usual diplomatic PR talk with an absolutely brutal F-bomb. He made it clear he prefers promotional war over peace. Yet, because money and matchups always override personal grudges in boxing, he still left the door slightly open.
Eddie Hearn Dismisses Turki Alalshikh’s Plan to Unite Him With Dana White
“After that Ennis-Zayas fight, I’m a bit pumped at the moment, So, at the moment I think, f— off, I’m not going, to be honest. Honestly, that’s how I feel, but maybe tomorrow I’ll go, ‘Alright, I’ll see you there.'”
That was Hearn’s instant reaction when a reporter asked him about attending a peace summit with the UFC boss. And it is the most honest response any promoter has given since Turki Alalshikh proposed the meeting.
Eddie Hearn is asked about an update on the summit with Dana White and Turki Alalshikh.
Eddie Hearn: After that (Ennis/Zayas fight) I’m a bit pumped at the moment. So, at the moment I think, fuck off, I’m not going, to be honest. Honestly, that’s how I feel, but maybe tomorrow… pic.twitter.com/8aVk0yak7z
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) June 28, 2026
Alalshikh went public in Ring Magazine with a plan to force an immediate truce between White, Nick Khan, Frank Warren, Hearn, and DAZN executives. His goal is to end boxing’s promotional wars and merge everyone into a single league.
White is central to this plan because he recently launched Zuffa Boxing with Saudi financial backing. White wants to run boxing like the UFC, controlling the rankings and locking fighters into one organization. This has already triggered a turf war.
However, the urgency behind the summit is deeply personal. Alalshikh has spent years battling cancer and a brain tumor. He recently admitted he fears severe cognitive decline by 2028 or 2029, stating, “I want to do it before losing my memory. I’m afraid in 2028 or 2029 I’ll forget my name.”
He is heavily trying to rewrite boxing’s rules before his health stops him.
The Summit’s Real Agenda: The Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury Mess
Stripping away all the corporate PR, the summit is happening because boxing has hit a massive legal wall with Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury. Both guys have signed contracts to fight, but the paperwork completely contradicts itself.
Joshua’s side requires a UK venue and specifically bans White from the promotion. Yet, the UFC CEO keeps going on camera claiming he’s running the show, something Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, has publicly called nonsense.
The TV networks make it even more of a headache. The fight is supposedly heading to Netflix, but Warren and Hearn are locked into exclusive broadcast deals with DAZN. Warren openly admitted that, as things stand, neither Matchroom nor Queensberry can legally promote the fight under those terms.
To make things messier, White and Hearn have spent the last few months trading personal insults over fighter poaching and UFC pay. White’s rapid expansion into boxing is an immediate threat to Hearn’s business, and Hearn is well aware of it.
So despite Hearn blowing up in Brooklyn, he’s going to be at that table. Salvaging the Joshua fight, keeping DAZN happy, and staying on the Saudi payroll means he simply doesn’t have a choice.
