Conor Benn’s switch to Zuffa Boxing redraws his title roadmap and opens the door to ‘legacy fights’

Conor Benn's decision to leave a decade-long partnership with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom and sign with Dana White's Zuffa Boxing changes who controls his next moves and how his career will be marketed. At 29, Benn is repositioning himself for high-profile, marquee matchups and a fast-track world-title push — a strategic pivot that alters bargaining power, matchmaking options, and the timeline for the fights he says he wants.

Conor Benn: who gains momentum and who must adapt

Moving to Zuffa Boxing hands Conor Benn access to a promoter promising rapid expansion and a new belt ecosystem; that recalibrates expectations for opponents, broadcast strategies, and the types of matchups that get prioritized. The bigger signal here is that Benn is explicitly chasing spectacle and legacy fights rather than a slow, traditional route through established sanctioning bodies. What’s easy to miss is how this will force long-standing relationships — promotional, managerial and regulatory — to be renegotiated around ambition rather than tenure.

The switch in context and the facts that matter next

Benn has left Matchroom, the promoter he’d been with since turning professional, and has signed with Zuffa Boxing, backed by UFC chief Dana White and Saudi investment. He has 24 wins and one loss across 25 professional fights. A rematch victory over long-time rival Chris Eubank Jr took place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November, reversing an earlier defeat in April.

His career has also faced disruption: in 2022 he failed a voluntary drugs test twice for the banned substance Clomifene, which triggered a two-year dispute with authorities and ended with his suspension being lifted in November 2024. After returning, he has publicly stated he wants the biggest stages and legacy matchups, and has suggested interest in the winner of the upcoming Barrios–Garcia bout; he is also identified as the mandatory challenger for the WBC welterweight title.

Zuffa Boxing staged its first event in January and has articulated an ambition to create a new premier title alongside existing championship recognition, challenging the four traditional sanctioning bodies. That organisational ambition directly affects Benn’s stated objectives: chasing bold, headline-grabbing fights and a fast track to a world-title narrative that Zuffa aims to control.

• Conor Benn is now aligned with a promoter pushing alternative world-title structures, shifting leverage from established sanctioning routes to promoter-driven marquee fights.
• Benn’s record (24-1) and recent stadium win give him immediate marketability for the biggest nights Zuffa wants to stage.
• His suspension being lifted in November 2024 cleared the way for this rapid comeback and this new commercial move.
• As the WBC mandatory challenger, Benn’s path to a traditional belt still exists, but timing and opponent selection may be reshaped by his new promoter’s priorities.

Here's the part that matters: Benn has traded long-term familiarity for a promoter promising scale and spectacle. That raises short-term upside but also new friction points with existing figures who helped build his career. Eddie Hearn has said he feels he misjudged Benn’s character and was surprised by the decision; he expected a conversation before the move and described the split as painful.

The real question now is whether Zuffa Boxing’s drive to stage blockbuster matchups and install its own championship hierarchy will align with the sanctioning routes Benn is eligible for, and whether promised 'legacy fights' can be delivered without creating regulatory or logistical roadblocks. Confirmation will come from matchmaking choices and announcements in the coming months.

It’s easy to overlook, but Benn’s combination of marketable wins and recent regulatory clearance makes him a uniquely flexible asset for a promoter trying to reshape boxing’s center of gravity. The next confirmation signals will be concrete fight dates, named opponents, and whether any existing title defences are rearranged to accommodate legacy matchups.