Dana White has confirmed he will not attend the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua press conference in London tonight, citing his commitments to the UFC Contender series.
Barring any late developments, the fierce British rivals will be present at the press conference to ignite the build-up to their heavyweight clash at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.
White's absence explained
White, who was officially named as a promoter alongside The Ring, owned by Saudi Arabian powerbroker Turki Alalshikh, stated over the weekend that the fight was in jeopardy because of an ongoing feud with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, Joshua's long-standing promoter.
Hearn disputed White's involvement, and while Hearn appears to have got his way, White insists he will only be absent because he was busy with his UFC Contender series.
"I would have been there if I didn't have The Contender series," he said.
White hits back at confusion claims
Asked why there is confusion over his involvement, White said: "There's no confusion whatsoever. If you look at everything from the network to the guy who's actually f***ing paying for it, and to me saying what I've said. I mean, I've been saying it now, feels like for f***ing years, but it's probably been weeks, but I've been saying the same thing."
"Everything that I've been saying is the truth, and why would I say it and double down, and triple down, and f***ing quadruple down if it wasn't the case? This isn't a hesitation; this is an ego thing; a total ego thing. Boxing has taken a hit in the United States. It's not as big as it was here 20 years ago. It has become a very British sport, and all the s*** you're hearing, and the crying, and the bitching is all coming from the UK."
UK venue confirmed
Hearn and Joshua campaigned for the event to be held in the UK, with the 80,000-capacity Principality Stadium's retractable roof making it the obvious choice in December, particularly with Wembley's 11pm curfew posing a problem for American broadcasters.
Fury is odds-on favourite to win a fight that has been a decade in the making but has repeatedly fallen through. Neither boxer is operating at the pinnacle of the division any longer, but Joshua has been knocked down six times across seven rounds in his two most recent outings against recognised opponents Daniel Dubois and Kristian Prenga. Fury, meanwhile, laboured to wins against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Mariusz Wach following his exit from retirement earlier this year and is facing one of the best finishers in the game in power-punching Joshua.
