It has been confirmed that Conor Benn’s contract with Zuffa Boxing is just a one-fight deal, after the British star made the shock switch last week.
The news has consumed the boxing world, given Benn left his longtime promoter Eddie Hearn to join rival Dana White at Zuffa, despite Hearn having supported Benn during a years-long drug-test saga. Benn, who failed two drug tests in 2022, was lent “hundreds of thousands of pounds” by Hearn, according to the Matchroom promoter.
Still, Benn has said he would love to work with Hearn again in the future, and it could be that the 29-year-old welterweight is a free agent before long.
Reports last week suggested that Benn’s contract with Zuffa is just a one-fight deal worth a staggering $15m. And one element of those reports was confirmed on Wednesday, as TKO president and CEO Mark Shapiro spoke on a quarterly financial call. TKO owns 40 per cent of Zuffa Boxing, while the other 60 per cent is owned by Saudi company Sela.
“Now let me be clear: We signed him for just one fight,” Shapiro said. “That’s all we’re talking about here. Of course, we hope eventually he’ll fight in our Zuffa Boxing series, exclusively on Paramount+, but for now, this is just one fight.
“No different than what we did with Canelo [Alvarez] and [Terence] Crawford, [who fought each other under the TKO banner in September]. No different than other super-fights we are currently planning with Sela.
“I would add that the reported purse, which I believe was around $15m, but the reported purse – I’m not confirming or denying – that Conor will be paid for the super-fight in 2026 is not TKO going out of pocket. Sela, led by our great partner Turki Alalshikh, is covering the purse. Once again, no different than exactly what he did with the Canelo-Crawford fight.”
Alalshikh is a Saudi government official who has been pivotal to the Gulf state’s boxing drive in recent years. He is heading up Zuffa Boxing alongside White, who is best known as the president of the UFC.
“This story has taken on a life of its own,” Shapiro continued. “That’s largely because Eddie Hearn is stirring the pot.
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“As you know, our partner in Zuffa Boxing is Sela, they’re the financial backer of the entity. Beyond the year-long series of fight cards that will appear exclusively on Paramount+, we’ve described again and again on these calls and at conferences that we plan to stage approximately two to four super-fights per year – Canelo-Crawford being an example – some of which TKO will promote and/or sell the media rights for, of course, incremental fees.
“We at TKO, with Sela, collectively identified Conor Benn as someone we wanted to sign for one of those super-fights in 2026. That’s it: one fight in 2026. Conor was a free agent; Dana White and [TKO executive] Nick Khan, in that order, went out and signed Conor.”
A new chapter in the Zuffa story was written on Wednesday, when The Telegraph reported that British promoter Frank Warren is claiming $1bn in lost income from TKO and Sela.
Per The Telegraph, Warren’s company Queensberry is claiming that TKO and Sela breached contracts they had signed with him, going behind his back to form a partnership of their own. Queensberry is reportedly seeking up to $1bn (£740m) in compensation for income that the promotion claims it would have earned – if the contracts had been honoured.
Legal letters have reportedly been sent, and it is thought that the case could end up with a formal claim being made in the High Court if there is no resolution.
The Independent approached Queensberry, TKO and Sela for comment, and a spokesperson for the latter said: “We are disappointed by the unfounded claims brought by Queensberry and Frank Warren. We reject them in their entirety and are confident that the facts will fully vindicate our position.”
