The tone in Eddie Hearn’s voice and the pacing of his speech betrayed him. But perhaps not as badly as Conor Benn.
“I blame myself,” Hearn told iFL TV on Friday, after the barely-believable news that Benn was leaving the promoter’s company Matchroom, to join rival promoter Dana White at Zuffa Boxing. “I was like... I just felt that the loyalty that we’ve shown would never, ever put us in this position. I made a mistake, because I misjudged the character.”
You could hear the deflation and regret in every word from the Matchroom chairman. Hearn, 46, said he “loaned” Benn “hundreds of thousands of pounds” when the welterweight “was done” – professionally and mentally done – during a drug-test saga that dragged on painfully for three years.
After Benn failed two drug tests in 2022, Matchroom stuck by him. Hearn stood by him. They had been there since the start of his professional career, in fact, dating back to 2016.
“I’m not gonna hang him out to dry,” Hearn continued on Friday, “and he will say: ‘Well, it was a big offer.’ But when I received the email from his lawyer, I texted him and said: ‘I think we should have a call. I think, for everything I’ve done for you, I think I deserve a call.’ And he said ‘no’, and I was like: ‘Man... f***... I can’t believe it.’”
He’s not the only one. The announcement came via Zuffa Boxing’s official X account, which carries a blue tick – not a gold one – so there was some reason to question its legitimacy. Even after that, the images of Benn and White together just looked... wrong, somehow, as if they could be AI. Of course this was not the case, but it’s a testament to how surreal the moment was. With that in mind, The Independent approached Benn and his manager, Keith Connolly, for comment, as well as sending other relevant parties the “is this real??” text.
In any case, this episode will have been more surreal for Hearn than anyone else.
When Benn was finally permitted to box on home soil again, taking on blood rival Chris Eubank Jr twice in 2025, he made millions of pounds. He was given the chance to fight in front of tens of thousands of fans. In avenging an April loss to Eubank Jr three months ago, he exorcised his demons.
But the boxing world is full of demons and devils. Hearn must now wonder: how long was one hovering above Benn’s other shoulder?
None of the above is to say Hearn is an angel. Indeed, the promoter took a lashing for defending Benn so passionately for so long. “I really lost a lot of my soul during that two-year period,” Hearn said on Friday. But even those minded to criticise Hearn might feel a pang of sympathy for him.
No, really, because Friday’s shocking news – this stunning split – can certainly be called a defection by Benn, and some might even feel that “betrayal” is a fair word. “He doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong, but that’s him as a person,” said Hearn.
Boxing’s history is laced with betrayals, but Benn’s Matchroom exit genuinely feels like a defection to define this generation. For all the historical grudges and splits between boxers and their promoters or coaches, it’s hard to recall such a monumental one in recent times.
To make matters worse, the move comes just days after White publicly launched a scathing tirade at Hearn, who fired back in a conversation with The Independent and other outlets. Let there be no doubt: White and Hearn aren’t just rivals, they have become fierce ones in recent weeks. The news also comes just days after Matchroom announced a five-year extension of its streaming deal with DAZN.
And as staggering as this episode has been, longtime boxing insider Dan Rafael was quick to tweet: “If you think s*** happened today just wait. Ain’t seen nothing yet.”
White might just have ignited a boxing war. Benn, wittingly or unwittingly, might be his accomplice.
And even so, on Friday, Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith claimed “I’m not personally shocked” by Benn’s behaviour. Speaking on The Stomping Ground, Smith said it was because “I always kind of knew what he was, in terms of his character”.
“I always knew, in my opinion, he had this kind of… I don’t know whether you’d call it behaviour, or what you wanna call it. You can’t expect everyone to have the same character, or whatever the word is, as you.”
Yet Hearn might have said it best. “I just… forgot it was boxing,” he admitted with a heavy sigh. He will never forget again.
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