Conor Benn and Dana White nearly broke the internet on Friday when it was announced that the two sides agreed to a lucrative one-fight deal under Zuffa Boxing. The deal is reportedly worth eight figures and could potentially be extended following Benn’s planned return to the ring.
Benn, 24-1 in his professional boxing career, signed one of the biggest contracts in recent boxing history. It was a huge win for White and Zuffa Boxing as the promotion continues to add top talent to the roster.
On the contrary, it was a big loss for Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who has represented Benn throughout his career to date. White and Hearn have sparked one of boxing’s newest rivalries, and the two sides have been trading blows in the media for weeks.
For the first time since the historic announcement, Hearn has spoken about Benn’s new contract, accusing the young boxer of refusing a call in good faith.
Eddie Hearn: ‘I misjudged Conor Benn’s character’ after Zuffa Boxing announcement
In a recent interview with IFL TVHearn made his first public comments on Benn’s Zuffa Boxing deal.
“I’ve known about this for a few days now and I even received an email from Conor Benn’s lawyer informing me of this. I’m not going to sit here and hang Conor Benn out to dry, but I have to be honest with you, personally I’m pretty devastated,” Hearn said of Benn.
“I’ve had a few days to process what could happen, so maybe this is different to what it would have been a few days ago. You don’t get shocked very often. I blame myself, because I just forgot it was boxing. I just felt like the loyalty we showed would never have put us in this position, and I just felt like I should never have really pushed Conor Benn before to sign a new contract. And I probably could have made him sign a new contract, and just like I said, I blame myself, and I made a mistake and misjudged the character.
“When I got the email from Conor Benn’s lawyer, I texted him and said, ‘I think we need to make a call. For everything I’ve done for you, I deserve a call’. And he said no – and I can’t believe it,” Hearn continued. “I just felt like everything we gave him, the loyalty and the support, would have been enough to talk about or even get close to a number. But it wasn’t really the interest, so very surprising and very painful.”
Hearn represented world champions such as Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin and Anthony Joshua during his boxing career. Meanwhile, Benn is looking to return to the ring after a stunning victory over Chris Eubank Jr. in their rematch last year.
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