Zuffa Boxing spent $15 million for Conor Benn to leave Matchroom and join the upstart fight firm on a one-fight basis which he completed when he labored to a 12-round win over Regis Prograis, earlier this month.
The Las Vegas-based company then extended the fighter’s deal for a five-fight, 2.5-year basis.
But according to boxing promoter and former television executive, Lou DiBella, for that investment, Zuffa hasn’t actually acquired a marquee talent, but, rather “a fraud” who benefited from having a famous father in Nigel Benn. The fighter reeks of mediocrity, DiBella said, who advanced his career through openly cheating.
DiBella said this during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday.
“I sort of do think [Conor Benn] is a fraud.”
— Lou DiBella
“He’s a pedestrian prizefighter with a famous lineage, and a cheater, and frankly got bigger by cheating,” DiBella said.
“I think his mediocrity is astounding, and I think his indiscretions have been too.”
For DiBella, there will be a sense of satisfaction to seeing Benn get beaten, badly, as a result. Benn has been linked with fights against Shakur Stevenson, among others, but there is one fighter in particular that the veteran New York sports exec wants to see Benn in the ring with — Ryan Garcia.
“People like me, they wanna see him get his ass kicked,” DiBella told Helwani. “I’ll buy Ryan Garcia and him.
“I’m hoping Ryan’s gonna knock him the hell out.”
Garcia has returned erratic form of late, bouncing between wins, losses, and a No Contest, however, he posted arguably a career-best victory earlier this year when he boxed with maturity and discipline to take the WBC welterweight world championship from Mario Barrios.
A fight with Benn would see Garcia’s title available under normal circumstances, but Benn’s status with Zuffa complicates his relationship with the sanctioning bodies.
