Dana White, the founder of the UFC and the head of the newly created Zuffa Boxing division, announced that he personally arranged the location for the long‑anticipated heavyweight bout between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. In an interview with Sky Sports, White said, "We handled all the negotiations for this fight, including the venue contract, so I know exactly where it will be held.
Our company, TKO—which now owns UFC, WWE and Zuffa Boxing—also secured the television rights and took care of every other detail." The prospect of a Fury‑Joshua showdown has been a subject of endless speculation for nearly ten years. While many fans have hoped the fight would take place in the United Kingdom, especially given Joshua’s British roots, promoter Eddie Hearn has repeatedly argued that the bout belongs on home soil.
"I strongly believe this fight should happen in the UK, and we’ll do everything we can to make that a reality," Hearn told reporters. White, however, cut through the debate with a blunt statement: "At the end of the day, the fight will go where the money is." He explained that the financial incentives from major backers—most notably a group of Saudi investors—are the decisive factor in determining the venue.
"The Saudis are willing to put a huge amount of cash on the table, and that’s what drives the decision," he added. The rivalry between Fury and Joshua has been a saga of near‑misses. Both men have dominated the heavyweight division in their own ways—Fury with his unorthodox style and charismatic swagger, Joshua with his polished technique and marketable image—but a head‑to‑head clash has remained elusive. The two have traded barbs in the media, and each has expressed a desire to prove himself against the other, yet contractual hurdles, promoter egos, and now the question of where to stage the event have stalled progress.
White did not shy away from criticizing the current state of boxing promotion. "It’s been a mess.
The sport has been tangled in ego battles for far too long," he said, lamenting that promoters often prioritize their own reputations over delivering the fights fans crave. "The promoters’ egos have become more important than the actual matchups. That’s why we see so many missed opportunities, like this one, that could have been settled years ago." He went on to describe the promoters he’s encountered as "some of the weakest people I’ve ever met in the fight business," a harsh assessment that underscores his frustration with the sport’s governance.
According to White, the financial backing from the Saudis changes the equation because it removes the need for promoters to rely on their own cash reserves or personal prestige. "When you have a billionaire patron covering the purse, the usual power struggles lose their relevance," he explained. Despite the tension, White expressed genuine admiration for both athletes. He recalled first noticing Joshua after his victory over Wladimir Klitschko, describing the British heavyweight as "the kind of charismatic, good‑looking champion the sport needs." White said he has followed Joshua’s career closely and appreciates his marketability and speaking ability, which make him a fan favorite.
His relationship with Fury, on the other hand, began under more complicated circumstances. White recounted that Fury, after a period of inactivity and a series of setbacks—including a loss to Deontay Wilder—started to talk publicly about UFC fighters in an attempt to secure a payday.
"That was when I first met Tyson," White said. "Even then, I liked his tenacity. He’s a fighter who can take a beating and come back like a zombie, which makes him fascinating to watch.
He’s one of the best heavyweights of this era." White also hinted that the fight could be a landmark event for his own boxing venture. By leveraging the financial muscle of the Saudi consortium and his own experience in negotiating major combat‑sport deals, he hopes to set a new standard for how high‑profile bouts are organized.
"We want to prove that a promoter can put the fans first, that the money can be used to bring the best fights to the biggest stages without the usual backstage drama," he said. Sky Sports has reached out to both Matchroom (Joshua’s promoter) and Queensberry (Fury’s promoter) for comment on White’s statements, but no official response has been released at the time of writing. In the meantime, boxing fans can look forward to other marquee events on the horizon.
The upcoming IBF middleweight title fight between Aaron McKenna and Etinosa Oliha in Dublin will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, offering a taste of the high‑caliber action that could soon culminate in a Fury‑Joshua clash. Whether the bout lands in a massive arena in the United States, a historic venue in London, or a brand‑new stadium in the Middle East, the consensus among insiders is clear: the fight will happen where the financial backing is strongest, and the fans will finally get to witness the showdown that has been a decade in the making.