“No, his boss, Nick Khan was there, who runs Zuffa,” Hearn said to Playbook Boxing when asked why Dana didn’t attend a recent meeting with Turki Alalshikh. “Dana’s the face, if you like. But he has no real operational, strategical role in Zuffa. I think Nick Khan runs the company. He decides who they sign, what they’re going to do, where they’re going with the shows, and that’s played out to Dana and he has to go and stand up there and deliver it.”
Hearn said the meeting, which included representatives from Matchroom, Queensberry, DAZN and Zuffa, didn’t produce any major breakthroughs, but it did reopen communication after weeks of public exchanges between him and White.
“I wasn’t like nothing really come of it to be honest with you, but it kind of opened the lines of communication versus just going back and forth at each other on social media,” Hearn said.
Hearn also made it clear that neither he nor Frank Warren intends to back down from the challenge posed by Zuffa’s entry into boxing.
“What you’ve got to understand is you don’t underestimate what it means to us. Our business. It’s our family business, and it’s our absolute life,” said Hearn. “We ain’t going to lay down, mate. So don’t think you’re going to come in here and start winning because you ain’t going to.”
The latest comments are likely to add fuel to the growing war of words between Hearn and White as Zuffa prepares to expand its presence in professional boxing.
