The emotional reaction of Eddie Hearn to the departure of one of his top stars has been criticized as borderline parody, particularly in light of his own past dealings with fighters.
The head of Matchroom Boxing was left surprised last month when Conor Benn, who he had backed from his professional debut through two stadium headliners against Chris Eubank Jr, joined Dana White and Zuffa Boxing without even giving him a heads-up.
Boxxer’s Ben Shalom called Hearn’s reaction ‘a joke’, claiming the 46-year-old has used similar tactics to sign fighters.
The rivals have clashed for years, with Shalom’s star Ben Whittaker switching to Matchroom in 2025.
Ben Shalom hits back at Eddie Hearn’s ‘parody’ reaction to Conor Benn’s exit
The founder of Boxxer did not buy into Hearn’s emotional response to Benn leaving, and did not hold back when speaking about it on TalkSPORT. He even went as far as to question whether the reaction was genuine.
Shalom also pointed out that both fighters Hearn often mentions as close friends – Anthony Joshua and Benn – have also been his biggest earners.
Speaking bluntly, he stated: “To be honest, the way they reacted, I thought it was a parody.
“I thought it was a complete joke. I mean, they have been doing this to fighters and taking various fighters, that have been built up by other promoters, for a long time.
“They put it down to money and ‘short careers’, putting it down to ‘there is no loyalty in boxing’ and glorifying it, taking the Mickey with it. I genuinely could not believe the reaction to Conor going to the highest bidder.”
Shalom also brought up questions of loyalty within Matchroom, using Frank Smith as an example. Smith, the CEO of Hearn’s promotion, is engaged to Eubank’s sister Emily but publicly supported Benn during their two high-profile fights last year.