TKO executive Mark Shapiro declared Monday what Zuffa Boxing’s real intentions are with the acquisition of Conor Benn, describing boxing as “a massive opportunity” for the parent company.
Zuffa shook up the combat sports world in February when it lured Benn from Matchroom for a reported one-fight deal worth $15 million.
The reason it was so shocking was because of how supportive Matchroom was during the fighter’s most controversial moment, when he had tested positive for the banned substance clomifene. Eddie Hearn was also positioning the British slugger as a pay-per-view star ready to take over from Matchroom’s biggest box office attractions, Anthony Joshua and Katie Taylor, with the latter one fight from retirement.
Hearn rued a “mistake” of his that led to Zuffa’s gain.
And, when speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, Shapiro finally revealed what the company plans on doing with the 29-year-old welterweight.
He said there’s “nobody better to [run Zuffa Boxing] than Dana White and Nick Khan, who know boxing backwards and forward, and grew up as fight fans before there was a WWE or UFC.”
“We are ready for battle,” he said, as they’ve been “signing big stars as evidenced by signing Conor Benn.”
Shapiro mentioned a “super fight” — Benn’s co-main event fight against Regis Prograis — taking place April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — the penultimate bout before Tyson Fury’s return to the ring against Russian giant Arslanbek Makhmudov. The event airs worldwide on Netflix.
There has been much speculation within the industry as to whether that satisfies the one-fight agreement Benn struck with Zuffa through his manager Keith Connolly. However, Hearn always seemed to suggest it would be unlikely Benn would return straight away to Matchroom, saying “we’ll see” as if there was a contract extension to be made.
Shapiro hinted as much at this conference.
“We hope to get him exclusively in the Zuffa league.”
Benn could box under the Zuffa banner in America, or even again and again in his own country. “Outside the US, we’ll likely go to the UK for a couple of fights,” Shapiro said.
“This is a huge opportunity and if we can just build boxing in the next 5-10 years into half of what the UFC is, or WWE, well then we’re a growth story that you want to jump into,” he finished.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show also on Monday, host Helwani talked about what he believes the situation is with regards to Benn, the supposed one-fight deal, and what it really means for both Zuffa and Matchroom.
“Everyone’s talking about the one-fight deal, but they structured that deal in a way that it’s almost virtually impossible for Eddie to match it,” said Helwani. “I don’t believe it’s a one-fight deal. It’s a handshake. Wink wink. Nudge nudge.
“I don’t believe Conor Benn would sabotage the relationship with Eddie Hearn for one fight,” the leading combat sport reporter said. “I believe there’s a deal in place for multiple fights. Right now, it’s a one-fight deal for $15 million that Eddie couldn’t match.
“It was a very savvy business move. I think we’ll see him stick around and fight in these other fights. There are savvy people running the show over there. It’s not $15 million for Regis Prograis. It’s a front-loaded deal and the rest will be spreads out on the back-end.”
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