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Absolutely nobody in boxing had this on their bingo card. There were no whispers, rumours or cryptic social media hints.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
If that is the direction, what does Benn do now? Will he target becoming the first Zuffa welterweight champion?<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
From a pure PR standpoint, this is a major win for White. This brewing promotional rivalry just got a whole lot louder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n