Dana White was not on stage when Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua faced off in front of the cameras for the first time on Wednesday. The UFC president stayed in Las Vegas, where his Contender Series was in production, and explained the missing name in blunt terms.

“I would have been there if I didn’t have the Contender series,” White told reporters at the DWCS event in Las Vegas.

White’s absence mattered because he has been listed since the fight was announced as one of the promoters, alongside Turki Alalshikh and The Ring. His non-appearance had been read across boxing as fallout from a promotional row with Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn. White pushed back on that reading.

“There’s no confusion whatsoever,” he said of his standing on the promotion.

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“Everything that I’ve been saying is the truth. And why would I say it and double down, and triple down, and quadruple down if it wasn’t the case?”

The Cardiff fight behind the London row

The bout is set for Friday, 11 December at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and will stream globally on Netflix at no extra cost to subscribers.

“Two of the best heavyweights of this generation, finally in the ring together,” Alalshikh said in the official announcement.

“This will be one of the biggest fights in boxing history.”

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Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) and Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) landed in London on Tuesday for the Wednesday face-off at the British Airways ARC at Olympia. The presser streamed from 6pm local time on Netflix’s YouTube channel and social platforms.

Matchroom holds the contract line

White’s exact role on the promotion has been contested since the fight was confirmed. Matchroom’s position, reported by BoxingScene, is that White cannot formally take part in the London event because of his affiliation with Zuffa Boxing, the boxing venture he runs with Alalshikh. Fury’s camp adjusted its contract to give White a more visible seat; Joshua and Hearn held to the original terms.

Fury’s manager Spencer Brown, speaking to BoxingInsider, described the situation as unfinished business.

“Look, we’re still negotiating it, it’s ongoing,” he said.

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White dismissed the idea that the row implied any doubt on his side.

“This isn’t hesitation. This is a total ego thing,” he said.

“I’m having fun, man. This is right up my alley.”

Ring walks capped at 2am local time

Contracts allow the Cardiff ring walks to run as late as 2am local time on the night, a slot Fury’s team has warned may test the crowd.

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“People don’t want to be in a stadium at 2am freezing,” Brown said.

Hearn expects the fighters to enter closer to 1am or 1:30am local time.

The London presser only went ahead after Fury enrolled with VADA on Monday evening, following a threatened Joshua-camp boycott over anti-doping protocols.

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