Earlier today (Fri., Feb. 20, 2026) Dana White dropped a bomb on the boxing world by announcing that Zuffa Boxing had signed Conor Benn to a lucrative deal reportedly worth eight figures (full details here).
While the news came to shocker to many, Eddie Hearn took the news the hardest, though he knew a few days ago that it was bound to happen. That’s because Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing had promoted Benn for the entirety of his pro boxing career, and losing him was a crushing blow.
And the fact “The Destroyer”
has partnered up with his newest rival only intensifies the hurt.
“I have got to be honest with you. Me personally I am devastated and I have had a couple of days to digest what might happen, and this interview will be different than it would have been a few days ago. Like you, it’s not often I get shocked,” Hearn told IFL TV.
According to Hearn, he only has himself to blame for the whole ordeal because he didn’t anticipate Benn — who has been with him for the last 10 years — to jump ship in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, Hearn feels he ultimately misjudged Benn’s character and never would have imagined he would leave him high and dry after all they have been through together.
“I blame myself because I forgot it was boxing and I was like, I just felt that the loyalty that we’ve shown would never ever put us in this position and I just felt that I never really needed to push Conor Benn to sign a new contract previously and I probably could’ve got him to sign a new contract previously. Like I said, I blame myself. I made a mistake. I misjudged the character,” said Hearn, who was visibly upset.
Hearn revealed he received the news via an email from Benn’s team. Soon thereafter, the outspoken promoter revealed he texted Benn and requested a phone call to see if they could come to an agreement to have him remain with Matchroom Boxing.
That request was ultimately denied.
“I’m not going to hang him out to dry. It was a big offer, alright, and when I received the email from his lawyer I text him (Conor) and said, ‘I think we should have a talk. For everything I have done for you I think I deserve a call and he said no.’ And I was like, fuck, I can not believe it and didn’t know what to say. I felt that everything we gave him, the loyalty we gave him, the support we gave him would be enough to talk it through or get close to a number. But there wasn’t even interest and it was very surprising, very painful. Just another moment in life that you live and learn from. I don’t really know what to say, really.”
Hearn feels the betrayal because he says he is the only promoter that took a chance on Benn when he was just 20 years of age. He went on to say he always stood behind Benn through thick and thin, including a suspension for a failed drug test that cost “The Destroyer” and Hearn a lot of money.
“I’ve had a couple of texts, he (Benn) texted me just after the announcement. And I replied, you know, we had a few back-and-forths, but you either feel like you’ve done nothing wrong or you’re — like I say, everyone’s different.
“It feels a little bit of a wasted few years, I gave a lot. I gave a lot. You know how hard I fought. You know when no one believed him, no one backed him, I did. I believed him and I backed him and I never gave in. When he was done, loaned him hundreds of thousands of pounds,” he added.
Hearn Considered Benn his second biggest star next to Anthony Joshua, so when asked if he could ever work with him again he wasn’t quite sure how to answer.
“I blame myself. I got the character wrong. I took the loyalty for granted because of what I did, and I shouldn’t have done that. And I’ve made that mistake before in boxing, but I just didn’t expect it from Conor Benn. So like I said, maybe he’s not quite the person I thought he was. I don’t know. Look, maybe we’ll talk in the future, but what can I say?”
As far as losing Benn to Dana White and Zuffa Boxing, Hearn say it’s all part of the business and surprisingly didn’t have too many harsh word towards the UFC CEO. That said, he did say that the ongoing “war” between the two promoters will be a “long” one.
To checkout the latest Zuffa boxing-related news and notes click here.
