- Eddie Hearn learned of the Benn-Zuffa signing via an email from Benn's lawyer β not from Benn himself.
- After receiving the email, Hearn texted Benn asking for a phone call. Benn said no.
- Hearn loaned Benn hundreds of thousands of pounds and publicly defended him for two full years during the failed drug test controversy β when, by Hearn's account, no one else in boxing would.
- Matchroom submitted a counter-offer that Hearn believes would have been "quite close" to the Zuffa number β but says the door was never really open for a negotiation.
- Hearn says the Zuffa approach to Benn predated his recent public war of words with Dana White by several days, but acknowledged Benn was "used as a pawn" in the broader Hearn-White rivalry.
Eddie Hearn says he is "pretty devastated" by Conor Benn's shock signing with Zuffa Boxing β and revealed the situation stings even more because Benn refused to give him a phone call before the announcement was made.
Speaking with iFL TV in a late-night exclusive interview on February 20 β just one day before a sold-out Matchroom show in Nottingham β Hearn opened up about learning of the deal through an email from Benn's lawyer rather than directly from the fighter himself.
I actually received an email from Conor Benn's lawyer to make me aware of it," Hearn said. "I'm not going to sit here and hang Conor Benn out to dry β but me personally, I'm pretty devastated. Very, very surprising, very, very painful. But just another moment in life that you live and learn from.
Hearn Asked for a Call β Benn Said No
After receiving the lawyer's email, Hearn texted Benn directly requesting a conversation. According to Hearn, Benn declined. That refusal became the emotional centerpiece of the interview.
For everything I've done for you, I think you deserve β I deserve a call," Hearn said. "And he said, 'No.' And I was like, 'Man... I can't believe it.'
Hearn placed the blame squarely on himself for not securing Benn to a new contract earlier, acknowledging he had the opportunity but never felt it was necessary.
I just felt that the loyalty that we'd shown would never ever put us in this position," he said. "I misjudged the character.
The Matchroom boss noted that he loaned Benn "hundreds of thousands of pounds" and went to bat for him publicly during a two-year period stemming from Benn's failed drug tests β a stretch during which, Hearn says, no one else in boxing was willing to stand behind the fighter.
When no one believed him, no one backed him β I did," he said. "It feels a little bit of a wasted few years, because I gave a lot."
A Pawn in the Hearn-White War
The signing lands amid an escalating public feud between Hearn and Zuffa Boxing's Dana White. Hearn had called Zuffa Boxing's output "absolute complete dogsh*t" just days earlier, prompting White to fire back. Hearn was careful to note that the Benn approach predated those comments but acknowledged the signing fits a broader pattern.
Connor's been used as a pawn in that respect β and that's just the business," Hearn said. "I don't think this has got nothing to do with my comments yesterday, because this was days before that. But it's all part of the game. I said to you, this is going to be a long war.
Dana White had mocked rival promoters after Zuffa Boxing 03, saying competing with established boxing was "like beating up babies." Hearn's loss of Benn β whom he rated as Matchroom's second-biggest commercial asset behind only Anthony Joshua β will be seen as a significant blow in that rivalry.
Hearn did say Matchroom submitted a counter-offer that he believes would have been competitive.
Part of the deal, I think we would have got quite close to it," he said. "But I think by then it was just the way it played out." He also took a pointed shot at Benn's manager, Keith Connelly: "I had some very choice words with him. The old Keithy baby does it again.
Joshua the Counter-Example β And Defiance Going Forward
In one of the interview's most revealing moments, Hearn unprompted drew a sharp contrast between Benn and Anthony Joshua on the question of loyalty.
Joshua is a different breed of class and loyalty," he said. "Joshua is one of a kind. He's cut from a different cloth.
As for Benn, Hearn's assessment was reluctant but pointed: "I got the character wrong. I took the loyalty for granted because of what I did, and I shouldn't have done that. Maybe he's not quite the person I thought he was."
Despite the pain, Hearn β who has faced questions about his future in a boxing landscape increasingly shaped by White and Saudi interests β closed the interview with a characteristic pivot toward defiance.
All this does is just put a little bit more of a fucking rocket up my ass to say, 'Okay β we'll see.'
Hearn signed off with:
From the realest, most loyal promoter you could ever fucking find β tune in tomorrow night live on DAZN for a sold-out show, Wood vs. Warrington rematch.