Eddie Hearn suggested he'd love to team up with UFC boss Dana White so they can dominate boxing together
- Eddie Hearn appeared to say he wouldn't be opposed to joining forces with Dana White so the two can dominate boxing together.
- Hearn is one of the most influential people in his sport and White, the UFC president, recently spoke glowingly of the London-based boxing promoter.
- Responding, Hearn told The Athletic this week: "Who knows what the future brings? Maybe me and Dana will end up taking boxing over."
One of the most powerful figures in combat sport, Eddie Hearn, appeared to welcome the prospect of joining forces with the UFC president Dana White so they can dominate boxing together.
Hearn spoke to The Athletic this week shortly after White had given him a glowing endorsement as a promoter, saying he's in a position of "serious strength" in his sport.
"Eddie Hearn has some of the top guys in the world putting on these big heavyweight fights and I think Eddie Hearn's doing it right," White said earlier this month.
"When Eddie Hearn puts on a fight, Eddie Hearn actually makes money. A lot of these other guys aren't making money."
White, a renowned boxing fan, said one of the sport's greatest problems is its fragmented nature, with numerous competing promotional stables, broadcasting networks, and world title organizations.
"Nobody wants to work together." The solution, White said, is to do what the UFC has done and control the vast majority of the power.
Hearn said this is "highly unlikely" but did not rule out working more closely with White to make it happen.
"We all know one controlling body in boxing is highly unlikely, but it may be the answer and it may be the solution, so we have to make sure we can try and dominate the marketplace so we are the significant leading promoter.
"I'm very jealous of [White's] position to make the fights the fans want to see," Hearn said.
"Who knows what the future brings? Maybe me and Dana will end up taking boxing over."
Hearn also wants to challenge the UFC's dominance in MMA
Hearn told Insider in 2017 that he was rejected advances to get involved with mixed martial arts firms. He told us his main passion and priority was boxing, and that the key to running a successful business was to be completely passionate about something and stick to it.
"I've been asked to get into UFC a number of times," Hearn said. "By existing UFC banners, MMA banners, and also through starting up my own [company]."
He added: "I don't have the same passion for UFC as I do for boxing. That doesn't mean I will never get into it, I enjoy it. But, when you sell anything, if you have passion for it, you can really sell it. If you don't, you can still sell it, but not in the same way."
His stance appeared to change over the years, perhaps because of the UFC's booming popularity, as he told Bein Sports earlier this year that he is now tempted to enter the MMA space.
"A lot of people are asking me to do it," he said. "Whether it's broadcasters or other organizations that would like to grow and trying to rival the UFC.
"I don't want to go in and be No. 2. Being No. 1 in that space is very, very difficult … Let me crack boxing first and then we'll see about MMA."
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