(Cris Esqueda / Matchroom Boxing)
If Eddie Hearn was already upset with boxing manager Keith Connolly in the past, then it seems that the departure of longtime Matchroom Boxing fighter Conor Benn was the final straw in their working relationship.
At least for now.
“I’m not going to fall out with Keith, but he’s just not someone that I really want to work with, to be honest with you,” Hearn said Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I would never rule it out, Ariel, because I just think I can never do that. But if you ask me, do I want to work with him again? No. Do DAZN want to work with him again? No. And they won’t even mind me saying it.
“I mean, that’s the reality of the situation. But, you know, each to their own. I’m not going to sit here and call him out. He’s got a job to do. They’re just disappointed.”
Connolly did not immediately respond to an email from BoxingScene seeking his response.
Among the fighters managed by Connolly whom Matchroom promoted in recent years were Benn, former super middleweight title challenger Edgar Berlanga and current junior welterweight titleholder Richardson Hitchins.
Last June, after Hitchins defeated George Kambosos Jnr on a Matchroom card, the fighter publicly declared himself a free agent, drawing Hearn’s ire.
“Richardson is a good kid. He’s just got some snakes around him, and those snakes will make you feel like they’re your guy,” Hearn told IFL at the time. “But the reality is, they’re bloodsuckers. Certain individuals take a bigger percentage or the same percentage as the promoter who is bankrolling you and paying for your entire path in the sport and making the investment.
“Managers have zero risk. They just let the promoter do all the work. They negotiate the deal. By the way, a good manager is good for your career. … I just understand the game, so it doesn’t infuriate me. I just go, ‘You’re a dog, you’ll get what’s fucking coming to you.’ That’s all. That’s boxing.”
Of course, a manager’s job includes looking out first and foremost for the interests of their fighter – which is why the Ali Act separates the roles of promoters and managers in the United States.
But Hearn has spoken repeatedly about the idea of loyalty from fighters given the investments from, and sacrifices made by, a promoter. Benn brought Connolly on in late 2024, after Hearn had stood by the fighter following his positive test for a performance-enhancing drug that…
2026-03-10 06:00:00
