The mere mention of UFC chief executive Dana White triggered a chorus of boos and jeers from the London crowd at Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua's press conference. The American promoter stayed in Las Vegas and declined to attend, yet Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi financier behind the fight, name-checked him regardless. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn had warned repeatedly that the fight would not go ahead if White were involved, and Alalshikh had a pointed reply. "A big thanks to my brother, who is suddenly not here today, Dana White," he told the room. "I want only one small advice, to Eddie, don't watch 'Braveheart' a lot, huh?"
Nick Khan, a senior executive at TKO, the group that owns the UFC and WWE, was also in attendance, while Hearn could not hide his smile at the room's hostile reaction. The historic bout is officially set for 11 December at Cardiff's Principality Stadium and will be streamed exclusively on Netflix. Organisers are targeting a record crowd for the year's biggest heavyweight showdown.
