Absolutely nobody in boxing had this on their bingo card. There were no whispers, rumours or cryptic social media hints.
Usually when a fighter jumps ship, the outgoing promoter gets ahead of it with a statement or some kind of warning shot – not this time.
White has made no secret of his desire to disrupt boxing’s power structure, and securing Benn – a fighter with genuine mainstream appeal, albeit still with doubters – is a statement signing.
Hearn had stood firmly behind Benn throughout the doping saga and was actively manoeuvring him towards a world-title shot. Benn is the mandatory challenger for the winner of Mario Barrios v Ryan Garcia, and has made no secret of his ambition to become a world champion.
So what does this mean for those plans? Zuffa recently signed reigning cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia, yet the long-term vision is one belt, a Zuffa title, and no reliance on the traditional sanctioning bodies.
If that is the direction, what does Benn do now? Will he target becoming the first Zuffa welterweight champion?
Over the past week, White dismissed Hearn’s credentials and quipped he works for his father Barry – prompting the younger Hearn to fire back that White’s boss is Alalshikh.
From a pure PR standpoint, this is a major win for White. This brewing promotional rivalry just got a whole lot louder.
