Eddie Hearn has shared his initial thoughts on Conor Benn’s shocking move.
The boxing world was stunned to see Benn sign to Zuffa Boxing in a one-fight deal that can reportedly earn him a $15 million paycheck.
It might only be for one fight but that is undeniably the promotion’s biggest signing to this point ahead of their plan to expand into the UK.
The opposite side to that is the continuing exchanges between Dana White and Hearn now that they’re competitors in the identical space.
Matchroom Sport’s chairman has blamed himself after seeing one among the highest stars on his roster leave for a rival.
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Eddie Hearn says he tried to talk with Conor Benn after his Zuffa Boxing move but was declined
Conor Benn has said that he couldn’t turn down Zuffa Boxing’s deal and it’s easy to see why considering how much he’ll be paid for one fight before becoming a free agent.
That being said, selecting to not re-sign with Eddie Hearn after all the things the pair have done together is a big call to make.
Benn’s back-to-back fights with Chris Eubank Jr solidified him as one among the very top names signed to Matchroom Boxing even after some previous controversies.
Hearn shared his response to the news in an interview with iFL TV, where he said that he blamed himself for putting an excessive amount of stock in loyalty and never attempting to re-sign Benn earlier.
This became much more apparent when he was declined the chance to talk to the 29-year-old about his decision.
“After I received the e-mail from his lawyer, I text him and said, ‘I believe we should always have a call,’” Hearn said. “‘I believe, for all the things I’ve done for you, I believe I deserve a call’ and he said no. I used to be like, ‘Man, f—. I can’t imagine it.’ I just, I don’t know what to say.
“I felt that all the things that we gave him, the loyalty that we gave him, the support we gave him, could be enough to speak it through or simply get near a number nevertheless it wasn’t really the interest so very surprising, very painful.”
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Eddie Hearn isn’t concerned about losing Anthony Joshua as well
It could possibly be argued that Conor Benn was the second Most worthy name on Eddie Hearn’s roster, especially with Katie Taylor’s profession coming to an end.
He spoke to iFL TV about why he’s not concerned about whether Matchroom’s long-time poster boy Anthony Joshua could make an analogous move.
“Joshua, you may’t mention those two in the identical name for a lot of, many reasons,” he said. “Joshua’s a unique breed of sophistication and loyalty. Yeah, Joshua’s one among a sort. Joshua is someone that even when I made the error of trusting that loyalty, it might never be a mistake with him because he’s cut from a unique cloth.”