Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing allegedly approached Anthony Joshua about leaving Matchroom Boxing, but the former two-time unified heavyweight champion shut it down immediately — forwarding the message to promoter Eddie Hearn within seconds of receiving it.
Hearn revealed the approach during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, saying:
“AJ had an approach about a couple of weeks ago. Do you know how quickly he sent me the message, the screenshot? Seconds. ‘Let me know what you want to reply.’”
The move came shortly after Conor Benn made a high-profile defection from Matchroom to Zuffa Boxing in February, signing on to co-headline the April 11 Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov card at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Benn signing was described as a painful blow for Hearn, who had financially backed Benn through a two-year doping suspension.
White has made clear that Zuffa’s ambitions go well beyond Benn, telling reporters at a recent press conference that he’s “in the market to sign everyone” and predicting the promotion will look “impressive” by year’s end. Zuffa — co-owned by TKO Group (which also owns UFC and WWE) and Saudi entertainment company Sela — has 12 shows scheduled for 2026 with deals in place on both Paramount+ and Netflix.
Despite the aggressive push, Joshua remains under a career-long promotional agreement with Matchroom signed in 2021. Hearn noted the two are firmly aligned: “We’re a team, mate. Until the wheels come off, we are a team. And I’ve got your back, always.”
