Dana White has criticised Eddie Hearn for underestimating him after Zuffa Boxing captured the signing of former Matchroom boxer Conor Benn in a controversial move last month.
White, the UFC chief, is fronting up a venture, with TKO, which also owns WWE, with Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh and Sela also involved.
The seismic move to bring in Benn, perhaps Hearn’s biggest asset after former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua, illustrated the intent behind White and Zuffa.
After Hearn admitted he had “misjudged the character” of Benn, White exchanged insults with the British promoter and has now highlighted his biggest error which led to losing one of his stars.
“I get it, they’ve got egos, they think they know everything, underestimating me and my team is one of the dumbest things you can do,” White told IFL TV. “I don’t think anybody in boxing is looking towards the future or how to build the business, they live fight to fight off scraps.
“It’s not what I do. It’s not the way I run my business. Everyone is shocked, because you have no vision and you obviously completely underestimated me.
“It’s not personal, I like Eddie, nobody could deny he has been a guy who has acted like a p****.
“When I got into this, I wasn’t going to mess with Eddie at all, but he comes out uncharacteristically acting crazy. He said, ‘I look forward to competing with him’, the way I’m wired, ‘are we fighting? Let’s fight’.
Benn’s contract with Zuffa Boxing is just a one-fight deal, with the news that has consumed the boxing world, 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.
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Reports 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.”
