Hearn and White clash over boxing control amid Ali Revival Act

Promoters Eddie Hearn and Dana White have escalated a public rivalry that has quickly become a wider dispute over control of professional boxing and proposed changes to U.S. boxing regulation. The tensions intensified in recent weeks after White, the longtime leader of mixed martial arts promoter the UFC, launched a boxing promotional venture earlier this year and promoted last month’s high profile Canelo Alvarez versus Terence Crawford fight. A unanimous vote by the California State Athletic Commission in favor of a proposed Muhammad Ali Revival Act has further inflamed debate.

White’s new boxing venture, launched in partnership with Saudi royal adviser Turki Alalshikh and linked to an exclusive broadcast arrangement with Paramount, has been framed by some as a major new entrant into the sport’s promotional landscape. Hearn, whose Matchroom Boxing has also focused on the U.S. market with signings such as Jaron "Boots" Ennis and Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez, has publicly challenged White’s incursion and questioned elements of the new legislative proposal that White supports.

The exchange has been personal as well as policy-driven. White responded to Hearn’s criticism by calling him a...