Eddie Hearn has claimed that Conor Benn offered him $250,000 to stop him from making negative comments. The fallout between Eddie Hearn and Conor Benn took another ugly turn.
Hearn made the claim while speaking to Pro Boxing Fans. He insisted the alleged offer came through an email from Benn’s lawyer. The Matchroom chairman was responding to suggestions that he had been offered a role as a “special advisor” to Benn following the fighter’s move away from Matchroom.
Hearn did not exactly take the idea well.
“What he did was, Conor Benn offered me money to keep my mouth shut,” Hearn said, before claiming the figure was $250,000. Hearn went on to state that the offer was made so he would not say anything negative about Benn’s team.
Eddie Hearn And Conor Benn Fallout Gets Messier
This is not just another promoter-fighter disagreement.
Hearn promoted Benn from his professional debut in 2016 and stood by him through the most difficult spell of his career. Benn’s planned 2022 fight with Chris Eubank Jr collapsed after two failed drug tests. This lead to a long-running case that kept him out of British rings for a significant period.
UK Anti-Doping later confirmed that the National Anti-Doping Panel was “not comfortably satisfied” that UKAD had proved Benn committed an anti-doping rule violation. UKAD then decided not to appeal the decision, clearing the way for Benn to resume his career in Britain.
For a long time, Hearn was Benn’s loudest backer. That is what makes this split feel so bitter.
Benn’s Zuffa Move Changed Everything
Benn left Matchroom earlier this year to sign with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, ending a 10-year partnership with Hearn. He has since returned with a points win over Regis Prograis at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in his first fight under the Zuffa banner.
From a business point of view, Benn moved on. That happens in boxing.
But the personal side is clearly nowhere near finished.
Hearn clearly feels betrayed, and Benn’s camp will no doubt see things differently. What is obvious is that one of British boxing’s strongest public partnerships has completely fallen apart.
The question now is whether this stays as a war of words, or whether it becomes another long-running boxing feud that drags everyone else into it.
