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Eddie Hearn Strikingly Attacks Dana White: ‘Come Into the Ring and I’ll Show You’

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Eddie Hearn has heard enough. And on Tuesday, he made sure everyone knew it.

In a wildly witty interview with IFLTV and another performance Ariel Helwani showthe president of Matchroom Boxing, in two separate interviews conducted within a few hours, interviewed Dan White, formally accepting the challenge from the UFC boss, outlining the financial terms he believed would be attached to the fight and predicting a knockout.

Since the launch of Zuffa Boxing, the exchanges between the two promoters have escalated rapidly, and White’s post-UFC 327 press conference this past weekend added fuel to the fire. In a conversation with the media in Miami, White sharply criticized his rival with characteristic bluntness.

“Eddie Hearn is in a coma. Eddie Hearn isn’t boxing anyone, he’s posting f***ing pictures of himself hitting the speed bag. It looks like it’s in sluggish motion,” White said. “I’ll tell you what. If that happened, me and Eddie Hearn are bums. We’d be the first fight of the night. These guys are talking like we’re going to be the headliners.

Hearn, appearing on IFLTV, had a very different view on card placement.

“He called me ap***y and that would be the start of the night. No, hell no! It’ll be the main event probably on Netflix,” Hearn said. “And if you generate… it will probably be the biggest fight right now, outside of AJ.”

The interviewer pressed him on the potential of a pay-per-view broadcast, pointing to Hearn’s previous statements about the benefits of a White fight. Hearn didn’t hesitate.

“You said categorically, you said it in one of my interviews, that he makes a minimum of 1 million purchases. Are you earnest? 1 million purchases is straightforward. EASY,” Hearn said. “Does Dana, who clearly knows this, think this will be the first fight of the night? I don’t know what he means.”

Financial framework

In addition to hurling insults, Hearn laid out the specific financial structure for the fight, treating the hypothetical fight like any other major promotion he has lined up.

“You put it in the pot 50-50. I know they’re not used to this model, but we’ll split the revenue. Me and him, 50-50,” Hearn said. “A broadcaster wants to sign up, they can take 10 or 15 percent of their pay-per-view. Eat what you kill. We’ll make $30 million per fight.”

This figure is significantly different from what has apparently been offered so far. Hearn referred to the $10 million figure set for the site and dismissed it as “very far off.” He also admitted that Turki Alalshikh was involved in discussions behind the scenes, although no formal offer had appeared on his desk.

“He thinks Turki has made some kind of offer, not an offer. He hasn’t made me an offer yet,” Hearn said. “Kind of disappointing. Dana White sure forgot a bit about this, didn’t he?”

White confirmed this during the UFC 327 press conference, telling reporters: “You don’t think Turki would try to make this fight? Of course he would. People are throwing offers everywhere.”

“I think I’m going to knock him out.”

If the IFLTV interview provided the financial framework, Hearn’s Monday appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show provided the knockout prediction.

“He keeps calling me hopeless, but I’m like, let’s see if I’m diseased,” Hearn told Helwani. “I mean, we would each make $30 million. What does he think, that I’m straightforward to touch? I’m very narrow, but I can handle it. I’ll get into good shape. I’m a gigantic lump and I think I’ll knock him out.”

Then, in perhaps the most sincere and self-aware moment of the entire media frenzy, Hearn accepted with extraordinary joy a different possible outcome.

“But if I get knocked out and make $30 million, it won’t be the saddest day in the world and people will probably find it pretty witty,” he said. “Now I’m very excited about it. After this conversation, I’m going to go to the gym.”

The formal acceptance was as direct as possible.

“He called me, I agree. I’m in. Let’s find out who the real dick is,” Hearn said. “Put me in, write down my name, find me a pair of shorts and I’ll go.”

“I’m Ready”

Returning to the IFLTV interview, Hearn was already building the case for his readiness with all the subtlety of a hammer. White mocked the swift bag footage that Hearn posted during training at Oleksandr Usyk’s camp in Spainand Hearn took it personally.

“We also saw your duffel bag and we said that was sluggish motion. Honestly, him and his guys, the cheeky bastards,” Hearn said before launching into what can only be described as a full scouting report on him. “I train every day. I’m torn to pieces. Fucking hand speed. Unbelievable. And I’m ready.”

The Matchroom boss then went into full Essex mode, with obvious relish referencing his amateur boxing past.

“You think Dana doesn’t know anything about Eddie Hearn, the Iceman from Billericay? Lake Meadows, 4 and 0, four by the way,” Hearn said, smiling. “Do you think Dana White will survive a frigid night on Brentwood High Street? Do you think?”

When the IFLTV interviewer jokingly offered to call Mike Tyson as a potential opponent, Hearn used it as the perfect opportunity to prove his point.

“So just because I want to fight Mike Tyson doesn’t mean it’s going to f**king happen,” Hearn said. “But Mike Tyson never called you out. In fact, Mike Tyson doesn’t even fucking know who you are, dude.” He paused long enough to deliver the punch line. “He challenged me to a fight, he said I wouldn’t fight him, and I’m telling you I’ll fight you. And I’m telling you I’ll beat him. Composed down. Show some respect to my name.”

More than a joke, less than a deal

What makes the Hearn-White animated so unusual is that it is situated in a veritable no man’s land, between promotional theater and real hostility. Their once-friendly relationship deteriorated rapidly after White signed Conor Benn from Matchroom to Zuffa Boxing for a reported $15 million. Hearn responded by recruiting UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to his newly formed Matchroom Talent Agency. Since then, the photos have been personal.

White maintained that if the fight did happen at all, it should be the opening card, not the headline, and that, at age 56, he should not be in the ring. However, he also stopped brief of closing the door definitively, confirming that real deals were being discussed and that Alalshikh is actively trying to make that happen.

Hearn, 10 years younger, at 46 and much taller, appears to be the one pushing harder. His closing argument on IFLTV leaned toward the absurd, yet somehow still sounded half-serious.

“Imagine a traveling army from Essex, 20,000 mighty, going to Vegas,” Hearn said. “I documented it. I trained my balls too. I’m ready. I’m fucking ready.”

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Operation Junto Nakatani delays Naoya Inoue’s rematch

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Image: Junto Nakatani Surgery Likely Delays Naoya Inoue Rematch

Junto Nakatani is reportedly scheduled to undergo surgery this week to repair a left orbital fracture he suffered in his loss to Naoya Inoue on May 2, which could delay a rematch between the two undefeated stars until 2027.

InsideRingShow on Monday reported that Nakatani’s coach, Rudy Hernandez, confirmed the injury to The Ring reporter Mike Coppinger. The fracture reportedly occurred delayed in the fight after an accidental clash of heads in the 10th round, and Inoue later attacked the damaged area during the final rounds.


Despite the injury, Nakatani completed all 12 rounds, losing by unanimous decision at the Tokyo Dome in one of the biggest fights of the year.

The surgery complicates increasingly constant talks about a possible rematch. Hernandez had already publicly pushed for a second fight, after which he made it clear that he was confident.

“If we don’t beat him in the rematch, I will never coach players again,” Hernandez said recently.

“I’ll quit.”

Inoue has also left the door open for another fight with Nakatani, although she has several other options open to her, including a possible weight change and a much-discussed confrontation with Jesse Rodriguez.

The injury now changes the schedule. Orbital fractures often require several months of recovery before players can return to full sparring and contact training. Hernandez reportedly expects Nakatani to resume training in about three to four months, but a return to fight Inoue before the end of 2026 seems much less certain right now.

The delay could mean a challenging decision for Inoue. He can wait until Nakatani is fully recovered, or continue working his way up the division while the momentum from their first fight is still fresh.

Their first meeting was a major commercial success in Japan and resulted in one of the toughest fights in Inoue’s career. There is a demand for a rematch. The moment suddenly may not be there.

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Categories Naoya Inoue

Last update: 2026/05/11 at 16:03

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Adrien Broner is about to make the worst decision of his life

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Adrien Broner speaks during a livestream appearance with a drink beside him amid growing concern over his future outside boxing

Adrien Broner may have finally found a way to rebuild his life outside of boxing. The problem is, it might also be the worst decision he’s ever made.

Over the past few weeks, Broner has found modern life on stream alongside Deen The Great.

Some of what Broner said was truly inspiring. Some moments reminded fans why Broner became such a huge personality.

The money flowing through the broadcasts was also significant, including one $15,000 donation as viewers rallied behind the former four-weight world champion.

For the first time in a long time, Broner looked financially stable, motivated and surrounded by people who were trying to pull him up instead of dragging him down.

Deen deserves recognition because the past few years have been complex for the Cincinnati native.

World Boxing News has thoroughly documented Broner’s decline, especially since the breakdown of his relationship with Don King following the Blair Cobbs defeat.

At several points, Broner openly admitted that he was returning to street life, while publicly asking for one last chance to turn the situation around.

Now another chance has come.

The danger is that it may also feed the very thing that has repeatedly threatened to destroy it.

Adrien Broner broadcast

Despite the positive outlook on Broner’s streaming success, one detail cannot be ignored.

The drinking never stopped.

Broner appeared on the broadcast almost every night under the influence of alcohol, sometimes to the point of oblivion, while alcohol was constantly available at home, clubs and events associated with the content lifestyle.

That’s why the latest trend seems much more threatening than people want to admit.

Over the past few years, Broner has opened up several times about his struggle with alcohol addiction. But the environment around him now revolves almost entirely around nightlife, streaming chaos, viral clips, and cameras going off at all hours of the day.

The issue is no longer whether Broner can make money outside of boxing.

Clearly it can.

The problem is whether turning real life into lasting content while struggling with alcoholism will push him even further away from stability.

Deen the Great | Throw

Worst decision

There is increasing talk that Broner will finally get his own streaming home and fully enter the same world that Deen lives in every day.

From a financial perspective, this opportunity makes sense, but from a public perspective, it could prove to be a disaster.

Because if the current pattern continues, viewers won’t just watch Adrien Broner rebuild. They will watch the same destructive cycle unfold in real time with an even larger audience.

That’s why some of the recent clips stopped being amusing and started feeling uncomfortable.

The information circulating on the Internet that Broner was being “released due to content” aroused emotions for good reason. People are starting to see the difference between helping someone and profiting from their instability.

None of this changes the fact that Deen seems to genuinely care about Broner and helped him when few others were willing.

However, caring and enabling can sometimes occur in the same room, and that’s the threatening part.

Because Broner finally has another platform, another audience, and another chance to rebuild his life.

The real danger is that it intends to replace one addiction with another – and this time the entire Internet will be watching the phenomenon live.


About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

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Gilberto Ramirez recalls the David Benavidez fight in his first statement since his KO defeat

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Gilberto Ramirez reflects on David Benavidez fight in first statement since KO loss

Gilberto Ramirez confirmed his future following his loss to David Benavidez, while also addressing the elbow controversy during their cruiserweight clash earlier this month.

“Zurdo” entered the bout as the defending unified champion, but was ultimately vacated of his WBO and WBA world titles following a sixth-round stoppage.

The emphatic finish came thanks to Benavidez’s sustained attack ahead becoming world champion in three divisions.

Even though it was his first fight at 200 pounds, the “Mexican Monster” showed incredible composure and hand speed, causing an unpleasant swelling to appear on his opponent’s right eye.

Ramirez, to his credit, showed great spirit in fighting through pain, but was ultimately defeated by an inherently smaller man.

Since their rivalry, video footage shows that Benavidez elbowed himself during one exchange, causing a slow-motion replay of the incident to circulate on social media.

In response, the 29-year-old insisted it was completely unintentional, although some observers tried to accuse him of using unfair tactics.

Ramirez, however, urged fans not to discredit Benavidez’s performance, while explaining w post on social media that he intends to “come back stronger.”

“Saturday didn’t go as I planned. The loss is painful – the pain is real. But I will sit with it, learn from it and come back stronger. This is not the end.

“I take my hat off to David… His success didn’t come overnight and that only motivates me more. Don’t discredit what he brought – he was the better man that night and I have nothing but respect for him and his team for the preparation they put in. Elbow or not, it’s going to be a fight at the end of the night.”

“If we ever share this ring again, I’ll be better prepared — and I’ll get my revenge. For now, I’m spending time with my family and enjoying the summer.”

At 34, it’s strenuous to predict where Ramirez will go next, and a rematch with Benavidez seems far from realistic.

Instead, the WBC featherlight heavyweight champion has entered preliminary talks for an undisputed showdown with Dmitry Bivol, who must first defeat mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on May 30.

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