The true ramifications of Conor Benn’s signing with Zuffa Boxing have yet to fully reverberate around the sport.
It might take a while, too, as various threads are pulled and the knock-on situations unravel.
The irony here is that many point to Benn’s level as a fighter and the report that it’s a one-fight deal without looking at the bigger picture. One fight doesn’t mean that it can’t or won’t be extended.
It also doesn’t matter, necessarily, how good you are so long as you have millions of followers on social media and can fill stadiums. Quite the opposite. And Benn is clearly a serviceable fighter.
He’s also the WBC’s No. 1 welterweight and Ryan Garcia is the new champ, something Benn quickly pointed out on social media last night – having watched the fight in Las Vegas from ringside – when he wrote: “Congratulations champ – See you later this year. Make sure you keep my belt warm.”
The answers to these questions are unknown, but it will be an interesting few weeks and months.
1. How intense will the rivalry between Eddie Hearn and Dana White get?
This felt like a deeply personal signing after everything Hearn and Benn had gone through. It was like White reached into Hearn’s soul to prise Benn away, and he also nabbed a fighter who doesn’t live far from Matchroom’s HQ geographically. It was an astonishing move and if any promoter was not concerned about their top talents having their heads turned then they probably all went without sleep on Friday night when the news broke. It also came hot on the heels of the announcement that Hearn had signed five more years with DAZN. One boxing insider doesn’t anticipate a long battle. “It’s already over,” they said.
2. What does it mean for Turki Alalshikh’s relationship with Matchroom?
Hearn had seemingly become the Saudi powerbroker’s promoter of choice but Alalshikh is also the man allegedly responsible for the birth and significant funding behind Zuffa Boxing. It’s been one thing working with promoters and hiring them to put on fights. It is quite another when fighters join a promotional company that many see you as responsible for. It feels like this could be a crucial step as the wheels turn between the old and new guard.
3. What does this mean for broadcast deals?
There have been posts on social media about how Benn won’t do great numbers on Paramount+ or draw fans in America. I’m not convinced that’s the plan. Zuffa and Sky Sports have been in talks in the UK and, rightly or wrongly, Benn is a PPV boxer in the UK. Him versus a Shakur Stevenson or Ryan Garcia would likely fill a stadium and do good numbers on Sky Sports Box Office. One thing seems certain and that is if it’s a one-fight deal, Benn won’t get an easy fight. That is unless there is a wildcard. One boxing insider put it to me yesterday that him versus Conor McGregor would do insane business. But Benn is likely the tip of the spear into the UK market with others set to follow. One former world champ from the UK told me this week he was set to return in April, in London, but would not disclose the promoter. This is arguably the biggest play with the signing.
4. What does it mean for the relationship between Tony Sims and Benn?
Before becoming salacious, it’s worth pointing out that Hearn said in interviews this weekend that he has no problem with Benn continuing to train out of the Matchroom Gym in Essex with Sims. Both Benn and Sims have previously said they would work together for the duration of Benn’s career, but this turn of events caught a lot of people off guard. Sims has been unavailable to talk thus far.
5. Will Eddie Hearn and Conor Benn work together again?
There are some in boxing, including trainer Mark Tibbs and former world champion Josh Taylor, who believes this is a play and that Hearn and Benn are still in league with one another, that Benn has the one fight and returns having made the money. Hearn has not said whether he would or wouldn’t work with his former fighter again because it’s too soon to digest but Benn said in his statement that he hoped Hearn would remain as part of the team. When you already have a trainer, promoter, and advisor it’s hard to see where Hearn would fit in. And professional pride would likely come into it, too.
