The biggest breakup in British boxing continues to garner attention. Conor Benn, while talking to popular sports podcast The Overlap with former England soccer player Gary Neville, again insisted that Eddie Hearn remains in his heart and mind.
It was indeed a shock when the announcement came: Benn was to leave Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, his long-time promoter, to sign a one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing, Hearn’s burgeoning rival. Whether the fallout, such as it was, merits being rehashed to the extent it has been since is a matter of opinion. But few things snare the public’s imagination like the breakdown of a high-profile relationship.
Hearn and Benn have had plenty to say over the last month since news broke of the fighter’s reported $15m deal with Dana White's Zuffa. Hearn, alongside father Barry, claimed they’d made extreme sacrifices for Benn as he made his way up, not least when his career hit the skids following two failed tests that postponed his career-defining rivalry with Chris Eubank Jnr by three years. Hearn had claimed that he’d lent Benn cash to get him through the hard times.
Benn now denies this.
“It all fell on me,” Benn claims. “Nobody paid my legal bills, he [Hearn] didn’t lend me a cent. I paid the legal bills myself. Nobody called me up to see if I had food on the table, I had to do that myself. Nobody will defend you when you’re done and gone. That three years taught me what I know.”
Hearn unquestionably defended Benn, however. Arguably to the promoter’s detriment, too, as he insisted his fighter was innocent, even when Benn was twice provisionally suspended for the drug-test failures. Hearn also played his part in ensuring the boxer never once publicly explained why banned substance clomifene was discovered in his system in two tests conducted five weeks apart.
In the end, however, there can be no denying that money is what drove Hearn, who had long recognized Benn’s box-office potential, to fight Benn’s corner and money is what ultimately seduced his prized possession away.
“It’s drastic,” Benn said when asked to explain the difference between what he was earning as a Matchroom fighter and what he stands to make with Zuffa. “It’s money where you go, ‘If you’re a couple of million out, yeah, alright, we’ll sort something out,’ but it’s not that.
“It’s not even close. Until you’re in that position, you won’t know; any fight can be the last fight. I promised myself I’d never feel that way again.”
But Benn, who fights Regis Prograis on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, insists that a reunion remains on the table. He also believes that Hearn, despite the perceived betrayal, understands why Benn had no choice but to sign with Zuffa.
“Of course they understand, I know Eddie,” Benn, 24-1 (14 KOs), said. “I didn’t tell Eddie [about the deal in advance]. We spoke, I sent him a nice, long message. [I said] ‘let’s catch up when the dust has settled, once this has all been sorted out.
“I didn’t know the outcome then; whether it would be Matchroom or not. We’ll speak when this done, I want to speak to him. Outside of business, we’re friends.
“This is so public, it can hurt people’s egos. One-fight deal, after that I’m a free agent. I could go on my own, I could go to Matchroom, stay with Zuffa. It’s a short-sighted approach, the big noise was worth the one-fight deal.”
