Connolly claims Zuffa Boxing offered Conor Benn far more money after Matchroom underestimated the free-agent market
Keith Connolly says Zuffa Boxing changed the direction of Conor Benn’s career after entering the market with an offer that far exceeded Matchroom’s proposal. Connolly claimed Eddie Hearn and Matchroom underestimated Benn’s value during free-agency negotiations before Zuffa Boxing entered discussions.
“The offer was multiple times higher than what they were offering,” Connolly said when discussing Benn’s move away from Matchroom. “People thought there was no competition out there at the time because DAZN was the only game in town and Zuffa popped up right around the time Conor was going into free agency.”
Connolly believes Benn’s entry into free agency came at the exact moment a new player entered the market.
“I think maybe people miscalculated that they were the only show in town and that there would be no other offers. That’s a possibility. And then a huge offer jumped out, and that’s where we’re at,” said Connolly to iFL TV.
Connolly said Benn’s team did meet with Matchroom before making the move, but claimed the numbers discussed were nowhere near the eventual offer they received elsewhere.
“We had one in New York on the week of Teofimo-Shakur, and we told them what we were expecting. They came in a lot lower than we thought they were. Since he was a free agent, we decided to test the market.”
The discussion also touched on the breakdown in communication that followed Benn’s exit from Matchroom. Connolly defended the decision to send the offer by email rather than handling everything privately over the phone.
“We covered ourselves legally by sending the offer by email, which we are supposed to do,” said Connolly. “That is a mechanism that you are supposed to do when you get an offer when a promoter has matching rights.”
Connolly added that Benn still wanted Hearn involved after the new deal was secured.
“We still want you on the team,” Connolly said. “Conor wanted Eddie to be on the team.”
