The boxing world erupted on Friday after Conor Benn officially announced his departure from Matchroom Boxing to sign with Zuffa Boxing, triggering a 24-hour firestorm of trash talk, betrayal accusations, and personal attacks from some of the sport’s biggest names.

What followed was one of the most vicious verbal slugfests in recent boxing memory — and nobody was pulling punches.

Dana White Sets the Tone

UFC president Dana White wasted no time piling on, using his UFC Houston post-fight press conference on February 21 to take direct aim at Eddie Hearn’s emotional reaction to losing Benn.

“Is there a bigger pussy than Eddie Hearn?” White said. “This guy’s supposed to be your friend and you’re f—ing crying? Get it together, man. This is the fight game. Fighters come and go. We’re literally beating up babies.”

White’s comments framed Benn’s signing as further proof that Zuffa’s entry into boxing is already shaking the establishment to its core — and that traditional promoters simply aren’t prepared for the fight.

Oscar De La Hoya Fires Back

Oscar De La Hoya didn’t hold back either, questioning the financial logic behind Benn’s deal and taking deeply personal shots at White during an interview with iFL TV on February 21.

“I heard it’s a one fight deal for eight figures,” De La Hoya said. “And what I don’t understand is like, yeah, who is paying him? He’s going to demand a lot of money. If it’s going to be eight figures, whatever it might be, he’s going to demand a lot of money. I’m not sure who’s going to pay. I feel Conor Benn going to Zuffa was just mindboggling to me.”

De La Hoya expressed sympathy for Hearn before turning his attention squarely to White.

“Eddie Hearn must be pissed off,” he said. “My god. How can they do that to Eddie Hearn? It is not right.”

Then came the haymaker.

“Dana has two daddies. Fertittas, actually three. The Fertitta brothers and Turky. Those are his daddies,” De La Hoya said. “There’s nothing that Dana has built on his own from scratch. He did start and he did invest in Power Slap, and we all know what happened there. He promotes Power Slap by slapping his wife in public. I don’t call that brilliant promotion. I call it domestic violence. That’s exactly what it is if you think about it. So, yeah, this guy, I’m not worried about it.”

Eddie Hearn Pours It All Out

The most gut-wrenching comments of the day came from Hearn himself, who gave a raw, emotional interview to iFL TV on February 21 — visibly devastated by what he sees as a personal betrayal from a fighter he went to war for.

“I’m not going to sit here and hang Conor Benn out to dry,” Hearn said. “But I got to be honest with you, me personally, pretty devastated. It’s not often you get shocked, and I blame myself because I forgot it was boxing. I just felt that the loyalty that we’ve shown would never ever put us in this position. I just felt that I never really needed to push Conor Benn to sign a new contract and I probably could have got him to sign a new contract previously. But I blame myself, I made a mistake because I misjudged the character.”

Hearn revealed that when he learned of Benn’s departure, his request for a simple phone call was denied.

“When I received the email from his lawyer, I texted him and said, ‘I think we should have a call. I think for everything I’ve done for you, I think I deserve a call.’ And he said, ‘No.’ And I was like, ‘Man, f—, I can’t believe it,'” Hearn said.

“I just don’t know what to say other than I just felt that everything that we gave him, the loyalty that we gave him, the support we gave him, would be enough to talk it through — or just, you know, get close to a number. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t really the interest. So very, very surprising, very, very painful,” Hearn said.

Hearn went on to describe the years of financial and personal investment he’d made in Benn’s career.

“It feels a little bit of a wasted few years, because I gave a lot. I gave a lot. You know how hard I fought for him. You know when no one believed him, no one backed him, I did. I believed him and I backed him and I never gave in. When he was done, I loaned him hundreds of thousands of pounds,” Hearn said.

Despite it all, Hearn turned the blame inward.

“I blame myself. I got the character wrong. I took the loyalty for granted because of what I did, and I shouldn’t have done that. And I’ve made that mistake before in boxing, but I just didn’t expect it from Conor Benn. So like I said, maybe he’s not quite the person I thought he was. I don’t know. Look, maybe we’ll talk in the future, but what can I say?”

Conor Benn: “An Opportunity I Simply Couldn’t Refuse”

For his part, Benn released a carefully worded statement on Instagram on February 20, thanking Hearn while making clear the money was too good to pass up.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Eddie and the entire team at Matchroom for everything they’ve done for me over the past decade,” Benn wrote. “From guiding me when I first turned pro, to headlining stadium shows. They were not only with me for those highlight moments but stood shoulder to shoulder with me during the tough times. It’s been a journey beyond anything we could have imagined, and for their belief, support and guidance, I will always be truly grateful, but Zuffa Boxing presented me with an opportunity I simply couldn’t refuse.”

Benn added that he hopes the split doesn’t have to be permanent: “I’d love Eddie to continue to be part of my team and hope that Matchroom and Zuffa can work together on my future fights.”

In a follow-up interview, Benn elaborated: “It wasn’t an easy decision. It was a decision that weighed heavy on me. But it was a choice for my family. The offer was life-changing. I’ve got nothing but love and respect for Eddie and the Matchroom team. They’ve been with me from the start, through the highs and lows.”

Chris Eubank Jr. Twists the Knife

Never one to miss an opportunity to stir the pot, Chris Eubank Jr. took to X on February 21 with a blistering thread that managed to torch both Hearn and Benn simultaneously.

“So Eddie Hearn’s #1 fighter has now left him,” Eubank Jr. wrote. “Eddie stuck by Conor Benn through thick & thin, getting him off of drug charges & giving him money to live when he had nothing. I guess this really shows just how much of a scumbag Hearn actually is… he saves his fighter’s life & career & Conor still doesn’t want to be involved with him. Or is Benn the scumbag for dumping the man that built him? This really is a conundrum. Scumbag on scumbag violence at its finest… don’t say I didn’t tell you guys.”

Eubank Jr. followed up with an even sharper post directed at both men: “Wow Eddie Hearn you saved this man’s life & his career & he still wouldn’t even give you a phone call!? I knew you were a piece of s—, but Conor must have seen you do some really bad things to not even allow you one call. And Conor, for whatever reason you stabbed this idiot in the back (he’s an idiot for thinking he could trust you) just know what goes around always comes back around… you will get yours too.”

The fallout from Benn’s move to Zuffa Boxing is far from over. Stay with BoxingInsider.com for continued coverage as this story develops.