Conor Benn Denies Eddie Hearn's £500,000 Loan Claim Amid Feud

One of boxing's biggest stories of the year has been the fallout between Conor Benn and Eddie Hearn, after 'The Destroyer' announced a shock move to Zuffa Boxing.

After making the announcement in February, Hearn and Benn have spoken at length about one another as their business arrangement came to an abrupt end. Although the Matchroom Boxing promoter has been clear on his dissatisfaction with how the partnership ended, Benn has refrained from taking any serious shots at Hearn.

Among the various comments from Hearn about his former fighter was the promoter stating Benn borrowed money from him to cover his legal fees related to a failed 2022 drug test. Hearn insisted that Benn borrowed £500,000, but the fighter has since paid him back.

Now, Benn is claiming that this statement is not true.

Conor Benn reflects on the legal fees he faced amid drug test failure

In an interview with The Overlap, Benn opened up about the legal fees he faced in the aftermath of a failed drug test.

"I promised myself that I'd never be in a position again where I have to feel the way I felt because only I had to deal with that," Benn said. "Guess who it all fell on? Me. It all fell on me."

Benn went on to say that all of these fees that he was faced with were dealt with by him, with no involvement from his former promoter.

"No one paid my legal bills. He [Hearn] didn't lend me a cent. I paid the legal bills, 100% myself."
Conor Benn

The 29-year-old also implied that he was not supported in any other regard during his legal battles. "No one called up and checked to see if I got food on the table. No one. I had to do that myself."

Despite the ongoings between the pair, Benn has expressed a desire to maintain a relationship with Hearn.

"We'll speak when this is done. I want to speak to him. Outside of business, we're friends... The thing is, it's so public. It can hurt people's egos. It's hurt them, hasn't it?"

Benn also did not fully close the door on future collaboration with Hearn and DAZN. "One-fight deal, after that, I'm a free agent. I could do my own [thing], I could go to Matchroom, stay with Zuffa. It's a short-sighted approach. The big noise was worth the one-fight deal.

"Will they [approach me]? I know DAZN probably will, but will I? I had nothing bad to say."