Conor Benn and Zuffa Boxing broke the sport’s internet Friday when the upstart fighting firm confirmed the British slugger had signed a deal to compete for the Dana White-backed organization.
Benn said in a statement Zuffa sent to Boxing Social that the move filled him with “excitement and hunger.” The UFC boss White called Benn “an absolute beast and a superstar.”
The move devastates Matchroom’s roster.
With Anthony Joshua and Katie Taylor in their twilight years, Hearn and Matchroom brass were positioning Benn as their next attraction. They even stood by him during a controversial period in which the boxer tested positive for the banned substance clomifene.
But now he’s moved to a rival promotion that appears to have grander intentions than it’s series of Thursday Night Fights-style shows to date suggests.
“So, Eddie Hearn’s No.1 fighter has now left him,” Eubank said on X.
“Eddie stuck by Conor Benn through thick and thin, getting him off of drug charges and giving him money to live when he had nothing.”
Eubank, who has had issues with Benn and Hearn, later termed the incident “scumbag on scumbag violence.”
Eubank wasn’t the only one with a ruthless take.
Matchroom’s super welterweight champion, Josh Kelly, who had been linked with a fight against Benn, said it looks like he’d “retired” Benn from “the real boxing circle.”
“Off to the circus son,” he said. “Let the real boxers battle it out.”
DAZN commentator Chris Mannix reported earlier that Benn’s deal with Zuffa was on a one-fight basis and worth in excess of $10 million. It’s unclear what opponent Zuffa have in mind for matching with Benn, but one possibility may lie with Ryan Garcia, should the welterweight challenger come out on top with his WBC championship fight with Mario Barrios on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Hearn told iFL he only had himself to blame, saying a “mistake” of his led to Benn’s exit, Matchroom’s loss, and Zuffa’s gain.