Eddie Hearn Exposes Dana White’s Friction With Turki Alalshikh Ahead of Canelo-Crawford and TKO Boxing Launch

May 3, Riyadh: After inviting Terence Crawford to the ring, standing alongside Canelo Alvarez, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh made it official. The two world champions will square up for a momentous clash in September. The announcement followed Riyadh Season’s landmark deal with TKO. It appeared that, with Dana White at the helm, the new promotion would kick off its boxing debut with the big fight. But, to everyone’s surprise, a few weeks later, Alalshikh revealed, “We have confirmed the promoter for Canelo v. Crawford will be Sela for Riyadh Season.”

Now, a month later, as the dust over the fight date, location, and broadcaster clears, the Riyadh Season head added, “My brother Dana will promote this fight.” With the first press conference of the fight earmarked for later this month in Riyadh, the sudden twist caught everyone unawares. Many still wonder what might have caused the change. Or, for that matter, what really caused the initial confusion, if it cannot be termed as differences? As the boxing world eagerly awaits one of the most anticipated clashes of the modern era, speaking with Ariel Helwani and Ade Oladipo, Eddie Hearn shared his two cents on developments.

Eddie Hearn: The final word rests with only one

For starters, Hearn acknowledged the obvious: everyone would want to promote a super fight of this scale. But while he expressed enthusiasm, Hearn also set the stage for why he’s not the promoter. Because “the reality is the promoter of this fight is Turki Alalshikh…all the decisions are made by His Excellency,” the Matchroom boss laid it out explicitly. Hearn emphasized that promoters like himself are symbolic partners. The actual power lies with the Saudi leadership. However, by saying so, perhaps inadvertently, he hauled up Dana White’s stakes as well. Hearn diplomatically endorsed Dana White’s appointment. It makes marketing sense due to White’s prominence in the U.S. market.

So Helwani highlighted the obvious. The chaotic rollout, with rumors of Dana White and then Turki appointing Sela as promoter, UFC shifting its schedule, etc. So Helwani asked, “Could you tell us what you were hearing about the state of this relationship because, as you know, the talk was like, ‘Oh, this thing isn’t going to get off the ground.’”

Eddie Hearn first clarified, “I don’t know really what happened.” But the underlying message remained the same. “His Excellency will do what he wants to do with the vision that he has without really taking much notice of the advice or the other people that are working on the shows.” Very candid. Hearn respects Alalshikh’s vision and bankroll, but is clear: it’s his way or you’re out.

So dropping the last hint, Eddie Hearn said, “Maybe one party wanted to do it one way and one party wanted to do it another way, and in time they fell in line.”

Dana White: Ready to steer things forward

A lot of rumors emerged when His Excellency Turki Alalshikh messaged about Sela taking over Canelo vs. Crawford’s promotions. It had just been a few weeks since the boxing world learned about the TKO-Riyadh Season partnership. Many viewed the Canelo-Crawford fight as the new venture’s baptism of fire. For Dana White, the September 13 clash remains a ‘once-in-a-lifetime fight.’

Now back in the driving seat, during the UFC 316 press conference, White offered his side of the story. “I’m going to tell you what’s awesome, man. So there are a lot of up things about boxing, but they don’t say—I mean, nobody talks. It’s the most amazing thing. If we sign a deal, I gotta get on my phone quick and go, “Hey, we just because 90,000 people will be out there talking about it, these guys don’t talk.”

Without further ado, he attested, “Um, I’m promoting the fight.”

Fans will be eagerly watching as the new boxing promotion takes over one of the biggest fights of modern times.

What’s your take on Eddie Hearn’s views?

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