Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn and Dana White have butted heads repeatedly in recent months. However, now Hearn feels sympathy for the UFC boss as Zuffa Boxing experiences growing pains.
"I'm not being facetious when I say this: I feel bad for Dana White," Hearn said during a media scrum in Sheffield, England (via Pro Boxing Fans.)
With the debate about who's doing and not doing what for the upcoming Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight seemingly settled, Hearn said he is surprised that Zuffa Boxing hasn't delivered more with White as its leading man. Hearn's most recent criticism comes on the heels of Zuffa Boxing signing and releasing one of boxing's biggest names, Shakur Stevenson, without competing once under its banner.
"Listen, I said when these guys come into boxing, you are not going to enjoy this, right?" Hearn told iFL TV. "Because when you've operated like those guys have, with total control and the ability to mute media to do what you want, and just to have people say yes, boxing is so much different. You're not going to get your own way. You're going to get faced with criticism. The media asks much tougher questions, and you will not enjoy it.
"Well, that's the understatement of the year, because they have had an absolute disaster, Zuffa. They've had the worst start they could ever have in the sport. The UFC business is in terrible decline. Even the ratings for WWE are down, but also, you can see how it's affecting Dana. He's forgetting things. He's getting flustered – and you know, I joke about the blood pressure and the capillaries, but it's for real."
At the UFC 333 pre-fight press conference on Thursday, White seemingly didn't recognize UFC-ranked No. 2 heavyweight Alexander Volkov, who stepped to the microphone to ask what he needed to do to get a title shot. Volkov competes on the card against Rizvan Kuniev at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Hearn points to that as one of many examples of White losing his promotional grip and believes his boxing venture is coming to an end quickly."I've decided, I don't want to sound facetious, but I've almost got to the point where I feel sorry for him now," Hearn said. "... He's said stuff that really pissed me off, and I feel like I've done my (part) – but when you read everybody's response now, it's not even a debate. It's just, 'Eddie Hearn has kicked their ass into next week. It's over.' They're not saying, 'Oh, can't wait for next week.' It's just done. It's over. So, I think Zuffa Boxing, I think they might be finished already.
"They have not done a show in America since July. It's November next week, right? They've done one show in the UK, which let's be honest, I don't mean to be disrespectful, was awful. They've got another one coming up, which is bang average. Ben Shalom shows are five times better, 10 times better than Zuffa shows, right? So what are they going to do for a six-month period? They're not doing one show in America, and they're doing two bang-average shows in the UK. These guys don't know what they're doing. I think they're done, and everyone's gone quiet."
Hearn continued tearing into White and Zuffa Boxing's effort in the space. The British boxing promoter expected to have a new rival in the sport, but believes the war has already been won.
"I expected these guys to be better at what they do, but I didn't expect it to affect them so badly and for it to – like, you can see the physical breakdown, the mental and emotional breakdown of what is happening when he's up there," Hearn said. "You can see how he looks. You can see it's affecting him. This is a horrible, horrible business, and that's why I say I feel almost bad for those guys because I know what it's like. You have to become really battle-worn to it. I saw this thing on Steven Bartlett (where Dana said), 'I get up every day, f*ck everybody else, f*ck –,' but you can't take any criticism. So, don't give it the big one, that you know, Ff*ck what people think.' Because look at your reaction when you see what people think.
"You're a control freak, and you can't take criticism, and when things don't go your way, you just tell people to f*ck off, and tell them they're an idiot. This game ain't like that. You got to be f*cking so tenacious and roll with it every single day. This (going up and down) is what you're rolling with in boxing. This (going in a straight line) is UFC, right? It's easy – and by the way, they've made it easy. Amazing what they've done. Boxing's not like that. We joke about the body of work, but let's be honest, what they've done, they've actually done the worst job I could have possibly expected from them. ... I was expecting much more, and I was expecting a real fight, but I think they're done."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Eddie Hearn: 'I feel bad for Dana White' amid Zuffa Boxing struggles