Anthony Joshua’s offer from UFC boss and what boxing star immediately said to Dana White | Boxing | Sport

Anthony Joshua was sensationally approached by Dana White over the prospect of joining the UFC supremo’s boxing stable, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn. The former heavyweight champion is nearing a return to the ring for the first time since his knockout victory over Jake Paul in December. Just days later, he was involved in a serious car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his closest friends.

The tragic incident has complicated Joshua’s return to boxing, but he is believed to be preparing for two huge outings before the end of the year. He is expected to take a warm-up fight in the summer, possibly against Deontay Wilder, before finally facing Tyson Fury in the autumn.

Joshua has worked with Hearn for the entirety of his professional career, but he was targeted by White in an attempt to lure him away from his long-time promoter.

White, best known for his role as UFC president, ventured into boxing last year with his Zuffa brand and immediately made a splash by poaching Conor Benn away from Hearn on a single-fight deal.

He also tried to sign Joshua but the former Olympic champion wasn’t interested in doing business, instead showing loyalty to Hearn.

During an appearance on the Cigar Talk podcast, the Matchroom promoter recalled: “About two contracts ago, the media run a story… ‘AJ in talks with Dana White.’ And I’m like: What the f***?’.

“So it’s in the paper, right, So I go and see AJ and we’ve got a media thing and I went: ‘What the f***?’. And he’s like: ‘Yeah, he called me out of the blue’.

“And I’m like: ‘What?’. And he went: ‘I told him straight away. I said I’m with Eddie, but we had a good chat. We talked for like half an hour.

“Because AJ likes to listen and so I’m like: ‘What?’. And then, funnily enough, about six months later, I went to Dana’s office and we had a meeting.

“And I said: ‘Oh, I hear you spoke to AJ’. And he said: ‘Yeah, and you know something, he said to me within the first five seconds, just to let you know, I’m not leaving Eddie. He’s my guy, but let’s talk’. I respected that. I was like: ‘F*** wow’.”

Hearn added that Joshua’s loyalty has been tested on several occasions over the years, but he hasn’t wavered despite being offered lucrative proposals.

“He’s been offered deals along the way when our contract had come to an end that were much better short-term money options for him,” added Hearn.

“And when you looked at them, again, fur coat, no knickers. When you looked at the outset, you were like: Wow’. But then it was like: ‘Oh, you’ve gotta do this and it’s a five-year deal’, and blah, blah, blah.

“But he never even [was like]: ‘Let me look at that’. It was just like: ‘No, no. I’m with Eddie, so whatever, but Eddie can look at it’.

“I’ve got so much respect for him because… there’s a few fighters, probably a handful of fighters that I feel the same way about, like AJ.

“Like in an empty room with one or two people, they’d have your back in a conversation, do you know what I mean? And in life, you know, there aren’t a lot of people like that, that’s true, especially in a game like boxing.

“So I will always be indebted to him. Not just as a company because he’s helped us, and he’s now a shareholder in my business, but because of what he’s done for me and the company.”

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