Conor Benn made headlines after his switch from Matchroom Boxing to Zuffa Boxing, leaving long-term promoter Eddie Hearn in favour of Dana White – at least for one fight. Now, pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford has weighed in.
Hearn promoted Benn from his professional debut, sticking by the side of ‘The Destroyer’ despite heaps of backlash due to a failed drugs test in 2022.
Two fights with Chris Eubank Jr last year turned Benn into both a global superstar and one of the faces of Matchroom Boxing, but last Friday it was revealed that the Briton had signed with Dana White’s new promotional outfit, Zuffa Boxing.
Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, Crawford – who went through a public split with Top Rank during his career – sided with Benn and explained why he believes loyalty is more-or-less non-existent in the relationship between a promoter and a fighter.
“A lot of people are saying that he [Benn] is disloyal and that Eddie Hearn has been loyal to him and this and that. I’m like ‘man, what is people taking about?’. It’s just business, it ain’t personal with them, I bet.
“Conor Benn did what is best for him and his family, just like the promotional companies are going to do what is best for them and their business.
“If a fighter that say sign loses probably two straight [matches], they get to cut him. No questions asked. Why? Because now they are wasting money, they feel.
“They don’t care about that person’s family, they don’t care about that person’s relationship with them. They are not going in there with their heart like ‘oh, man, you are a good buddy’, they are like ‘ah, sorry, it is just business’, and they cut you.”
Benn is set to debut under the Zuffa Boxing banner when he takes on Regis Prograis in a 150lb catchweight contest as the co-main event of the Fury-Makhmudov bill on Saturday, April 11.