Eddie Hearn has spent years building Anthony Joshua into one of boxing’s biggest attractions. Dan Rafael argues that Hearn has no reason to give Dana White a promotional role in Joshua’s fight with Tyson Furyespecially if the agreement excludes him.

The December 11 fight has been announced for Cardiff on Netflix, but its promotional arrangements remain in dispute. Critics have portrayed Hearn and Joshua as obstacles to a fight fans have wanted for years. Rafael’s response is that a signed deal should mean something, even when enforcing it delays a major event.

“Why should Eddie Hearn help assist that by letting them get the foot in the door to be the promoter of arguably the largest fight going right now on a mega platform like Netflix? Eddie is not a dummy. Why would you do that? You protect your asset. You purposely negotiated a deal point that said that this person could not be involved in the promotion,” said Rafael to iFL TV.

His point is sharper than a personal defense of Hearn. Joshua is the attraction Matchroom helped build. Giving Zuffa Boxing credit for promoting Joshua–Fury on Netflix would put a direct competitor beside that attraction at the moment of maximum exposure. White would gain a showcase for Zuffa without having spent the years developing Joshua’s career.

The broadcast relationship adds another reason for Hearn to stand firm. A prominent role in this event could help White build ties with Netflix for future boxing shows. It does not follow that one fight would make Zuffa the platform’s gatekeeper, but Hearn would hardly want to help a rival make that introduction using Matchroom’s biggest star.

None of that settles what the contracts actually require. They have not been made public, and Rafael’s assertion that Joshua’s agreement is being breached remains his account of the dispute. But if Matchroom negotiated a restriction on White’s promotional role, treating it as disposable because the fight has been announced would weaken the value of the term Hearn fought to secure.

Rafael proposed a way through: The Ring promotes the main event, while White attends at Turki Alalshikh’s invitation and participates through Zuffa fighters on the undercard. Whether that satisfies Joshua’s agreement is for the parties to decide. It does, however, separate White’s presence at the show from promoting Joshua–Fury itself.

Rafael also raised Joshua’s camp’s concern about Fury joining the agreed drug testing program. That deserves scrutiny and a response from Fury’s side, but there is no basis here to claim either camp is using testing as a bargaining tactic.

Rafael believes the payday will ultimately bring everyone together. Until then, Hearn’s refusal to yield on White’s role has a straightforward business logic: Joshua helped make this fight valuable, and Matchroom does not have to hand a rival the promotional credit for it.

Ben Whittaker’s fight with Conor Wallace on October 3 is being sold as a step up, but his path to the IBF eliminator deserves a closer look. He struggled with domestic-level Liam Cameron before winning their rematch, then faced lesser opposition after signing with Matchroom. At 29, Whittaker is now one win from a mandatory position without having beaten an established contender. Wallace is supposed to validate that leap.

In terms of ranking and stakes, Wallace is a step up. Whittaker’s recent opponents have rarely forced him to show what happens when his speed and theatrics fail to take control immediately. His two-round stoppage of Richard Rivera in June looked spectacular, but Rivera was 35, and the fight ended before Whittaker had to make a difficult adjustment. It was a useful American showcase, not an answer to questions about his stamina, defense or composure over twelve rounds.

Matchroom has chosen the available IBF route instead of putting Whittaker in with an established light heavyweight such as Anthony Yarde or Joshua Buatsi. A promoter is entitled to seek the fastest route to a title shot. But an eliminator label cannot give Whittaker the experience those fights might have provided. He can reach mandatory status while still learning how to handle the kind of resistance a champion will bring.

Wallace (17-1, 12 KOs) should not be treated as a guaranteed win. He is ranked above Whittaker in the IBF rankings and earned a split-decision victory over Jerome Pampellone. He is also an Australian-based southpaw who has yet to fight professionally outside Australia. His record establishes him as a legitimate ranked opponent, though it offers limited evidence of how he would fare against the best fighters at 175 pounds.

His best chance is to make Whittaker work at a pace the favorite does not choose. Whittaker likes space to move, set traps, and perform for the crowd. If Wallace can close that space, touch the body, and keep coming after Whittaker lands, the bout could become an examination of discipline rather than reflexes. Dropping his hands against an opponent who is still pressing forward in the later rounds would be a different gamble from doing it during a brief showcase.

Birmingham brings its own challenge for Wallace. He cannot afford to surrender the early rounds while getting accustomed to Whittaker’s movement and the atmosphere. That does not mean the judges would deny him a close win. It means that a slow start on the road could leave him needing to take risks against the faster boxer as the rounds run out.

There is a longer-term problem for Whittaker even if he wins clearly. Becoming Bivol’s mandatory challenger does not guarantee that the champion will be available next. Bivol has other potential obligations and recently completed an IBF mandatory defense. Whittaker could gain the position, wait for his turn, and still need the hard fights his title route allowed him to bypass.

That is what makes the Wallace fight more revealing than the poster suggests. Another early knockout would strengthen Whittaker’s appeal, but it would leave familiar questions unanswered. If Wallace forces him through difficult rounds, Whittaker has an opportunity to show that the fast track has produced a boxer capable of handling more than opponents selected for his highlight reel.

Dana White is unsure whether Ryan Garcia is the opponent who could bring Terence Crawford out of retirement. His answer to a question about the rumored fight pointed toward another possibility without naming anyone.

“I don’t know if that’s the fight Crawford would come back for. There’s a lot of options out there obviously for Ryan, the question is what is the fight that Crawford would come back for. I think there’s a fight out there that Crawford would come back for. I don’t know if Ryan is it,” White told reporters.

White smiled as he said he thought such a fight existed. Canelo Alvarez is the obvious candidate, but White did not say he meant Canelo. He offered no indication that Crawford has agreed to return or that negotiations are underway.

The only figure with the commercial weight to justify the physical tax is Canelo, and that road is blocked. Canelo first has to survive Christian Mbilli on October 31. Mbilli throws hundreds of punches, presses forward without taking a backward step, and represents an exhausting stylistic nightmare for an aging champion. If Canelo drops that fight or looks faded, the market for a Crawford rematch disappears instantly.

If Canelo gets through Mbilli, there are much more violent, commercial pairings available for him than running back a bout he already lost. Staging Canelo against aggressive punchers generates real drama. Crawford’s win over Canelo was a safety-first clinic that drew sharp criticism from casual viewers for being a tactical one. It did not create a viral explosion the way mega spectacles do. Spending massive money to stage a repeat of a fight Crawford already won makes zero business sense.

Crawford himself confirmed that Turki never placed an actual rematch offer on the table after their bout. Turki threw out a playful social media post about Crawford trying to become a four-division undisputed champion, but playful online talk is not a nine-figure contract. The reality is that Riyadh Season moved straight along.