If you follow boxing casually, you may have heard the name Conor Benn attached to drug test controversies, a generational family rivalry, a reported $15 million contract, and a sudden departure from one of boxing’s biggest promoters. If you follow the sport closely, you know that Benn is one of the most polarizing and talked-about fighters in the world — a 29-year-old British welterweight who is now the WBC’s mandatory challenger for the title Ryan Garcia just won from Mario Barrios.

Here is everything you need to know about Conor Benn — where he came from, what happened with the drug test, how the Eubank rivalry played out, and why his move to Zuffa Boxing could reshape the welterweight picture.

Boxing Royalty: The Benn Name

Conor Benn was born September 28, 1996, in Sydney, Australia, while his father Nigel was fighting abroad. Nigel Benn, known as “The Dark Destroyer,” was a two-division world champion who held the WBO middleweight and WBC super middleweight titles during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Nigel’s rivalry with Chris Eubank Sr. produced two of the most memorable fights in British boxing history — a ninth-round TKO loss in 1990 and a controversial draw in 1993, both of which drew massive audiences in the United Kingdom.

Conor grew up in Essex, England, and turned professional in 2016 at age 19, signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. The early expectation was straightforward: build the younger Benn carefully, capitalize on the family name, and eventually match him with Chris Eubank Jr. to cash in on the generational storyline. That plan worked — eventually — but the path was far more complicated than anyone anticipated.

The Rise Through the Ranks

Benn’s early career was a work in progress. He lacked the polish of a blue-chip prospect, but he made up for technical shortcomings with aggression, power, and an obvious willingness to improve. Matchroom brought him along steadily, matching him against progressively tougher opposition on DAZN cards in the UK.

By 2021, Benn was establishing himself as a genuine contender at welterweight. He stopped Samuel Vargas in one round, outpointed Adrian Granados, and knocked out former world title challenger Chris Algieri in four rounds. Those performances earned him a spot in the welterweight rankings and put the Eubank fight firmly on the table.

Heading into October 2022, Benn was 21-0 with 14 knockouts. He was 26 years old, fighting on a major promotional platform, and about to step into the biggest bout of his life. Then it all fell apart.

The Drug Test That Changed Everything

Days before Benn was scheduled to face Chris Eubank Jr. at The O2 Arena in London on October 8, 2022, the Daily Mail reported that Benn had tested positive for clomifene — a female fertility drug that is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency because it can be used to boost testosterone levels in men. It was later confirmed that Benn had returned two adverse findings from Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) tests, one in July and one in September 2022.

The British Boxing Board of Control prohibited the fight. The event was canceled. Benn’s reputation was in tatters overnight.

What followed was a two-year legal and regulatory battle that became one of the most convoluted anti-doping cases in boxing history. Benn maintained his innocence throughout, insisting he was a clean fighter. He relinquished his British boxing license, was charged by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) in April 2023, had his provisional suspension briefly lifted and then reimposed, and ultimately had the charge dismissed in November 2024 when the National Anti-Doping Panel ruled it was “not comfortably satisfied” that UKAD had proved Benn committed a doping violation.

The WBC had previously offered an unusual explanation, suggesting the positive test could have been caused by “highly elevated consumption of eggs” — a claim that became a running joke in British boxing circles and led to Eubank Jr. memorably slapping Benn in the face with an egg at a press conference.

Whether you believe Benn was innocent or got away with it depends largely on which corner of the boxing internet you inhabit. What is not in dispute is that the controversy cost him two prime years of his career and permanently divided public opinion on his legitimacy as a fighter.

The Eubank Saga: Two Fights, 35 Years in the Making

With his suspension lifted and his UK license eventually restored, Benn finally got the fight the sport had been waiting for. On April 26, 2025, he and Chris Eubank Jr. met at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in front of a reported 67,484 fans — with Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr. sitting together at ringside, watching their sons settle a rivalry that began in 1990.

The fight was an instant classic. Benn, naturally a welterweight, moved up to the 160-pound middleweight limit to make the bout happen. He started aggressively and hurt Eubank badly in the eighth round, but Eubank’s superior size and experience told over 12 rounds. All three judges scored it 116-112 for Eubank, handing Benn the first loss of his professional career. BoxingInsider.com named it the 2025 Fight of the Year.

The rematch came seven months later, on November 15, 2025, again at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in front of more than 60,000 fans. This time, the result was different — and emphatic. Benn dominated from the opening bell, outboxing a visibly weight-drained Eubank Jr. for 12 rounds and punctuating the performance with two knockdowns in the final round. The scorecards — 119-107, 118-108, 116-110 — reflected total control, as ESPN reported in its post-fight coverage.

“It’s been some journey, and I feel like this is the end of the Benn-Eubank saga,” Benn said afterward. “Done and finished, it’s over.”

The two fights cemented Benn as one of the biggest draws in British boxing. Combined, the events sold more than 125,000 tickets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium alone — numbers that few active fighters in the world can match.

The Zuffa Bombshell

On February 20, 2026 — the night before Garcia-Barrios in Las Vegas — Benn dropped his own bombshell. After 10 years with Matchroom Boxing, Benn left to sign with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing. Reports quickly surfaced of a one-fight deal worth $15 million — a staggering figure for a fighter who has never held a world title.

The split blindsided Eddie Hearn, who learned of Benn’s decision via an email from Benn’s lawyer. In an interview on iFL TV, Hearn called the departure a “dagger in the heart”, saying he had loaned Benn “hundreds of thousands of pounds” during his two-year suspension, stood by him through the drug test controversy, and “literally died on a hill for him.”

“I blame myself because I forgot it was boxing,” Hearn said. “I misjudged the character.”

The fallout escalated quickly. Dana White responded to Hearn’s comments by calling him a vulgar name during a press event, while Benn released a diplomatic social media statement thanking Matchroom and expressing hope that Hearn could remain part of his team going forward.

The move makes Benn one of the marquee names in Zuffa Boxing’s growing stable, joining IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. For Zuffa, which is backed by Saudi investment and is still building its roster and identity, Benn represents the kind of big-name, controversy-adjacent star who generates attention and ticket sales.

What’s Next: The WBC Mandatory and Garcia

The timing of Benn’s Zuffa signing was not coincidental. Benn is currently the WBC’s No. 1-ranked welterweight and has been confirmed as the mandatory challenger for the WBC title — the same belt Garcia captured from Barrios on Saturday night in a dominant performance that saw him drop the champion inside the first 30 seconds and cruise to a near-shutout decision. A Garcia-Benn fight is the obvious next step, and both sides have publicly expressed interest.

“I said I would be WBC champion,” Benn told Sky Sports before the Barrios fight. “Garcia vs. Benn — I like the sound of that.”

Garcia, meanwhile, called out Shakur Stevenson after beating Barrios, but the WBC mandatory obligation will be difficult to avoid. If the fight materializes, it would pit two of boxing’s biggest social media-era stars against each other — both with drug test controversies in their recent past, both with massive followings, and both desperate to prove they belong at the top of the welterweight division.

Whether Garcia-Benn happens under Zuffa’s banner, on DAZN, or requires the kind of cross-promotional negotiation that boxing often bungles, the commercial appeal is obvious. Garcia brings the American audience. Benn brings the British market. The drug test narratives write themselves. And at 147 pounds, both men have legitimate power and fan-friendly styles.

The Fighter Behind the Headlines

Strip away the controversies and the family drama, and Conor Benn is a 24-1 fighter with 14 knockouts who has headlined two stadium shows in front of 60,000-plus fans and is entering his athletic prime at 29. His best attributes are his aggression, his engine, and a right hand that carries genuine stopping power at welterweight. His weaknesses — defensive lapses, occasional wildness, and a tendency to fight in bursts rather than sustained combinations — were exposed by Eubank Jr. in their first meeting but looked significantly improved in the rematch.

At welterweight, where his natural size and power are maximized, Benn is a dangerous proposition for anyone in the division. Whether he is a world-class fighter or a very good one who benefits from enormous name recognition is the question his next fight needs to answer.

One thing is certain: Conor Benn is impossible to ignore. He carries a famous name, a doping cloud, stadium-level drawing power, a new promotional home with deep pockets, and a mandatory shot at a world title held by one of the sport’s biggest stars. The next chapter of his career could be the most significant yet.