'White humiliated Aspinall' - Hearn warns Benn after exit
· Yahoo Sports
Eddie Hearn says he is ready for the "battle" with Zuffa Boxing's Dana White after the fledgling boxing promotion poached Conor Benn.
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Benn's departure sent shockwaves through the boxing world after Hearn and his Matchroom organisation stood by the Briton during a two-year doping scandal.
UFC president White has pledged to take over boxing and has been involved in a war of words with Hearn in recent weeks.
"I've not spoken to him [White] for a couple of weeks; I had a couple of texts with him," Hearn told BBC 5 Live's Boxing with Steve Bunce podcast.
"It's going to be a long, hard battle. But I'm also privileged and honoured that it seems to be a battle between me and him. And I'm well up for it.
"I think it's a blessing to be in those kinds of battles."
Benn had been signed with Matchroom for his entire professional career, but Hearn admitted the 29-year-old was not tied to a long-term contract.
The deal with Zuffa Boxing is reportedly for one fight but still worth eight figures for the Englishman.
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Hearn labels Zuffa Boxing as 'ruthless'
Tom Aspinall's career has been derailed by serious eye injuries he sustained in a UFC fight last October [Getty Images]Hearn said he expected "loyalty" from Benn after standing by him during his doping suspension, which was eventually lifted in November 2024.
Benn's profile rocketed in part thanks to the doping scandal, which was intertwined with an epic two-fight rivalry with Chris Eubank Jr.
Hearn described losing Benn to Zuffa Boxing as "painful" but insisted Benn has now aligned himself with "ruthless" operators.
"Look at what they did to [UFC heavyweight champion] Tom Aspinall. Tom Aspinall literally had his eye gouged out in a fight and Dana White basically called him a cry baby and cast him aside, humiliated him in front of everybody, while the guy is having operations to save his eyesight," Hearn said.
"Dana White wouldn't do what I did for Conor Benn. But we're different people, and we have a different passion for the sport.
"You're a pawn in the game if you're Conor Benn, aren't you? We're different organisations.
"I've said it before: these guys are very, very powerful, ruthless people. They don't care about the sport of boxing.
"In my opinion, they don't care about the fighters - it's just a business to them."