Conor Benn signs for Zuffa

Hearn made a mistake I have rarely seen Frank Warren do for decades ,when a fighter is at the top of their ceiling in ability in ring and also to be a money maker he would of sorted out a contract extension.

Friendship and business are two different things entirely. All walks of life.

Hearn forgot that, his father never would of made that error.

 

Rumours going round of another Zuffa move that tops the Benn betrayal.
Surely AJ can't ditch Eddie too?

 

He is, but Zuffa are the guys trying to break into the market and overpaying is almost always the price of entry. There's maybe a secondary benefit to this deal for them also in that it weakens a competitor who had invested heavily in building Benn's profile. Matchroom's cupboard looks pretty bare right now, especially if they've some lucrative PPV dates pencilled in for next years projections.

I've no interest in watching Benn fight, but it will be interesting to discover who they match him with. White has made much of them wanting genuine 50/50 fights but Benn's limitations must be clear to all. A big name from days gone by would make sense, something to draw a lot of press and which could be argued to be a credible fight on paper, if not in reality?

 

In a year or so it won’t look so bad for Matchroom. Zuffa are paying a fortune for a guy we all know will be exposed at the highest level, and where do you go with him after that.

 

Wouldn't suprise me if they get a retired fighter back to face Benn.
Kell Brook maybe?
They have already tried to start fake beef between them last year

 

I get the feeling that Zuffa has only signed Benn to p*ss Hearn off and announce themselves to the UK market...its hard to work out any more value than that..thing is Benn needs Hearn, they are a double act really.

 

He wasn't under contract as Eddie thought he would be loyal.

 

If Hearn has dirt around the drug testing, he won't say anything. It would be damaging to him and Matchroom to admit they knew anything dodgy.

 

This thread makes for cringeworthy reading, all this talk about loyalty.

All Hearn did was protect his asset. That was a business decision, as is Benn's jumping ship. Hearn is playing a blinder, as usual, getting all the thick boxing fans on side.

It's all the more funny because Hearn has demonstrated over the last fifteen years that he has more faces than Big Ben, but the fans still lap it up. This is the same character that backed a so-called doper (as well as many other dopers) after saying he would never work with a doper. Boxing fans have a goldfish memory. No wonder Chisora and Benn are pay-per-view boxers. They'll lap anything up.

Give me a break.

 

Plus his Daddy Turki would have known Benn wasn't under contract.

 

Agreed, although like most bullies, they will more likely double-down and start some more beef with Shalom to make them feel better about themselves

 

Signing Benn to a one-fight deal makes zero sense unless he’s basically being used as a patsy to build someone or something else. There has to be options attached, because if it’s truly one-and-done, where are you recouping the eight figures you’ve supposedly dropped on him?

Only way it adds up is if they’re planning to stack names and build a little stable quickly. I can only assume they’re hoping Garcia wins tonight and then they try to pull him in as well, because otherwise Benn is just an expensive headline with no runway.

And it’s actually the most anti–Dana White move ever. Dana’s whole playbook is control and long-term value through contracts/options, not splashing that kind of money for a single headline. If it really is just a one-fight splash, it makes Dana look like the latest toy and puppet for Turki rather than the guy calling the shots.

 

Yes, I posted that last night before Hearn had made any public comment.

Seems incredible that Benn wasn't in a contract - whether a long one or an expiring one with matching rights - after everything they've done together. Simon Jordan will have a field day with it. To Hearn's mild credit he's at acknowledged that it's his own fault on that front.

 

Dirty from Benn but it’s nothing Hearn wouldn’t have done in return. Not 5 minutes ago Hearn was bragging about stealing Ben Whittaker now he’s experiencing it from the other side.