Conor Benn signs for Zuffa

When Conor walked to the ring for the first Eubank fight, I thought he'd get so many more boos than he actually ended up getting. I figured it was probably down to a lot of people in the crowd that were Matchroom/Hearn fans. I guess he can kiss goodbye to them as well now.
By the time his career is done, he might be one of the most disliked fighters in British history. The people who saw through him after the whole PED saga can't stand him (I include myself and the majority on here in that group) The people who dislike him generally for his arrogant personality and childlike tantrums aimed at people like Duke McKenzie can't stand him. I'm sure many people in the small boxing circle can't stand him, now the legions of Matchroom fans who love Eddie will absolutely despise him. What a horrible little brat he is.
I'm quite interested to hear what Simon Jordan has to say about this , might be quite fun to tune in to TalkSport on Monday.

 

Lol he does spend a lot of time with Dereck Chisora, so I would say that he would have been in Benn's ear a lot, telling him that there is no loyalty in boxing, promoters are the enemy, every man for himself etc...

Can't stand either of Benn or Hearn, but Benn has done the right thing. Play the game or the game will play you.

 

We all knew this at the time of his drug cheating case that Hearn lent Bent money. That's why he pushed so hard for him and backed him. He wanted his money back and more. I hope he tells the truth now about what Bent was really like and his drug tests.

The dirty drug cheating rat. He looks like a dirty rat right now with that stupid hair. His stupid bimbo cheering on him by saying "Proud of you Con" on his Instagram post. Both of them are utter scum along with his skummy greasy snake manager and big foot giant lawyer.

 

I’d usually side with the fighter and agree that it’s a short career and to go where the money is etc etc but imo this is a wildly different situation, you’ve got a fighter who’s had way better opportunities than he ever should have had based on his actual boxing abilities and 100% of that is down to Hearn and the backing that he’s very publicly given him, this feels like a real snakey move to me!

That said I’m not 100% percent sure that, if the 1 fight deal is to be believed, he doesn’t just return to matchroom after that and carry on as normal with Eddie being “in” on the whole thing all along

As a boxing fan It’s sickening to think that Benn will earn an absolute fortune from the game whilst probably never fighting anyone of note and just dip in and out of random big money fights at all sorts of weird weights whilst other genuine (and likeable) talents will struggle to make a decent living for their efforts

 

Reminds me of the face off 1st fight between Jr and Benn.

Except this time it's Hearn left with egg on his face.

 

Conor leaving Matchroom is just him showing (again) who he is. Whatever you think of the whole “egg” saga, nobody stuck their neck out for him more than Eddie, so if this isn’t genuinely about going independent and building his own shows, it’s about as disloyal as it gets. As Mickey Duff said, “if you want loyalty, get a dog.”

That said, Eddie can’t clutch his pearls too much. Matchroom was built in a ruthless business where fighters jump ship for the best deal/TV, and they’ve benefited plenty over the years when Warren/Hennessy fighters switched lanes. It’s boxing – everyone screams “loyalty” until the numbers change. Zuffa have clearly overvalued Benn in every sense of the word.

 

To his own end for his own benefit
Comments here are a right laugh

 

Hearn backed him for business of course but also because he clearly liked him. He loaned him a lot of money. I just think Benn comes across really poorly here.

 

Rumours Zuffa Boxing are going to announce a deal with Sky Sports.

 

I've done my best to ignore Zuffa so far, so what's the deal there, Zuffa boxers only able to fight other Zuffa boxers? That would suit someone like Conor Benn down to the ground.

 

It's hard to really know what the future holds. They want to take over boxing and have one belt for each weight class which is a bold plan, they want boxing to be more like the UFC, all fighters using the same sponsors, they choose who fights who, no other promotional outfit gets in the way. Will it materialize? I have some doubts as that is a huge task. I find it ridiculous though that people are criticising their first shows. They have been active since January of this year..... JANUARY!!!! They've been around for a blink of an eye and people think that's all we are getting from them???? In the few weeks they have been around, they've managed to pinch Jai and Conor from Matchroom, so God knows what their stable will look like in one or two years time.

 

You've just described Matchroom in the Sky era. A closed shop where other than outside invited guests for voluntary defences or the odd bin man coming over, fights with rival promoters were rarely sanctioned and often the cause of Hearn pantomime to fluff up their social media numbers. Never really a serious option.

The thing I've never understood about Matchroom, and it's possibly to their credit, is how they tried to create a "UFC" style setup within Sky and then DAZN where they sign boxers to fight each other on their exclusive cards, whilst still clutching onto the sanctioning bodies for "history" and relevance. As soon as proper money came in, and not east-end spivs propped up by UK TV, someone was always going to attempt to consolidate because it wouldn't be hard to. Being recognised as champion has always been a commercial and promotional thing, not a sporting one and Zuffa / Saudi have a good chance of doing it. Who recognises MMA champions other than UFC ones?

It feels like we're on the verge of another pseudo-monopoly like US TV had on the sport in the 70s-90s where the mega fights happened in Vegas, champions were recognised global stars and the UK was really a regional spiv operation. It was fun here while it lasted.

 

I would almost say fair play to Benn here.

If the one fight 8 figure reports are true, this is the biggest 'con' we've possibly ever seen. I didn't think anything would top Haye vs Bellew for the sheer garbage being served up while pretending to be a legitimate fight, but here we are. I'm not counting the youtube or crossover stuff because I think that's widely accepted to just be a farce.

But how a guy not even proven at British level - with all the drugs stuff hanging over his head - can stiff the guy who got him through it all and earn the kind of purse normally reserved for elite world champions is just insane. When Eddie Hearn comes out of something looking principled you can be sure it's a seriously messed up situation.

A new low for boxing.

 

Already done. First UK show April/May.

 

Maybe this'll teach Hearn and his assistant Fat Frank not to gloat too much. With all the snidey remarks and interviews they give about BOXXER and Ben Shalom, this should humble them. Doubt it though. They just came across bigger cuunts than themselves In TKO and Turki.