Whatever hopes remained for the Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury now appear increasingly uncertain after Dana White spoke at the post-fight press conference of Zuffa Boxing 11, which concluded in London’s Copper Box Arena sometime ago. What White said runs counter to what Eddie Hearn wants.

After the resolution of the dispute over the venue, the showdown has been mired in a bitter contest after Hearn learned about White’s involvement in the fight as a promoter. Hearn’s case received a much-needed boost tonight after Max Kellerman reflected on White’s role. But the UFC CEO had seemingly made up his mind.

“Dana…Max Kellerman said on the broadcast tonight that you won’t be working the fight as a promoter, but you’ll be helping Turki Alalshikh on, I think he said, on a personal level,” a reporter asked.

The question caught the UFC CEO off guard, who felt it was “weird” – for Kellerman to have said something like that.

Speaking on the Zuffa 11 broadcast, Kellerman stated, “Dana White’s involvement in the fight, so people know, is purely in assisting Turki Alalshikh, who has been the engine behind just about every big fight in boxing over the last handful of years. He’s assisting Turki in a personal capacity, not as a promoter.”

White’s response prompted prompted the reporter to press him on Hearn’s contract clause objection. Stating that the clause in the fight contract they signed does not entail White or Zuffa Boxing’s involvement, the Matchroom Boxing chief caused a huge uproar, especially after broadcast partner Netflix suggested something similar.

Likely taking cue from the past instances when he signed prominent fighters from the Matchroom roster, White mocked Hearn, saying that he’s not trying to lure Anthony Joshua away from him.

“We’re promoting the fight right now,” he asserted before adding, “And what I’ve said 150,000 times, I don’t know if I’ve ever known anybody who’s more full of f**king sh*t than Eddie Hearn. If… I’m done. If, when, who, whatever. This guy is full of f**king sh*t. I’ve been saying the same thing since way back when, and here we are.”

The reply prompted the reporter to ask if, that being the case, he would consider, as a compromise move, stepping back from his role instead of jeopardizing the fight, as it increasingly appears now?

White replied, “Well, that’s not up to me. That’s not up to me. I’m involved in the f**king fight.”

As the discussion shifted to the final decision-making in the Zuffa-TKO-Riyadh season landscape, White dismissed the reporter by asking if he had any other questions relevant to the night.

Dana White looked visibly irritated. He has been facing the same questions repeatedly.

AJ vs. Fury can wait – Dana White vs. Eddie Hearn has taken over

But the problem is that this tussle between him and Hearn has now reached an absurd level.

Reports suggested that organizers were now looking at a scenario if AJ vs. Fury fell apart. If that happened, plans could be afoot to put together replacement fights. Some of the matchups reportedly being discussed included a fight between now-retired Terence Crawford and Ryan Garcia.

Another suggestion had Fury facing unified cruiserweight title holder David Benavidez.

One reason why White spoke with much confidence about his role could be the comments made by Tyson Fury himself.

“In Joshua’s contract apparently, it says that TKO and Dana couldn’t be involved,” the former champion reportedly said while speaking with Furocity. “That was in my (contract), but I took it out. I took it out so he could be involved. Fuck them. Yeah, I want him involved. Two baldies together.

“I like Dana. Good businessman and a good guy. A man who comes from nothing to being a billionaire, and look what he’s done with the UFC. Unbelievable. I think he can do really well in boxing. I think he drives Eddie Hearn out, feeds him to the fishes.”

Perhaps what Frank Warren said while summing up the situation may resonate with many fans.

The Queensberry head, who promoted Fury, was also initially against White and Zuffa’s involvement before changing his views. But like many, he seemingly did not expect things to reach such a point that the AJ-Fury fight would continue to go from one hurdle to the next instead of actually happening.

Speaking with the Guradian, the veteran promoter said that given the fight is finally happening in the UK, as everyone wanted, “Let’s get on with it. Who cares about all this other rubbish? I don’t care if Dana White is sitting there. Who gives a monkeys?”

In that context, some view Kellerman’s comments as an attempt to soften the stance and look favorably on Hearn and his team.

While White offered his own take, it remains to be seen if he’s willing to buy that idea as well.