Conor Benn avoiding not one but two world title shots at one point may leave a few startled. The latest revelations from his now-former promoter, Eddie Hearn, cast him in a different light. The fallout from Benn’s surprise exit from Matchroom Boxing to Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing continues to linger. While Benn may have moved on, the wound is still fresh for Hearn.

“He knows his level,” Hearn told Boxing Now. “I wanted him to fight Lewis Crocker. We went for lunch, and I said, ‘Mate, you could fight Lewis Crocker; that is a great fight. That is a very tough fight but, if you win that fight, you are a world champion.”

He claimed Benn showed little enthusiasm for the idea. He raised concerns tied to his dislike for the welterweight contender’s previous trainer, Billy Nelson. So Eddie Hearn offered another option.

“I said,” Hearn added, “What the f**k has that got to do with it? Just fight him. Then, we talked about Josh Kelly. (He said), ‘Nah, f**k Josh Kelly’.”

Hearn’s latest comments come in the aftermath of Benn’s fight against Regis Prograis. On the co-main event of the Netflix boxing card headlined by Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov, Benn made his Zuffa debut. But his performance did not land well.

So Hearn linked it with Benn’s earlier rejection of two title fights. He suggested those decisions came down to financial reasoning, noting Benn would have earned only a few million dollars in those bouts, which he felt was not worth the risk. In contrast, under Zuffa’s $15 million one-fight deal, Benn instead faced a former champion well past his prime and reportedly dealing with injuries.

From Hearn’s point of view, the contrast is what stands out. Because Benn is back in a position where he wants a championship belt but faces formidable challenges that could be career-threatening.

Conor Benn steps from one danger zone into another

After turning down title shots under Matchroom Boxing, Benn is now firmly in line for one. As the number one contender in the WBC’s welterweight rankings, he’s the mandatory challenger to Ryan Garcia, who currently holds the belt. Still, the path forward carries significant risk.

Several experts have raised concerns about the matchup, suggesting Benn could be walking into a difficult night.

“You’re going to get knocked out in one round!” Paulie Malignaggi said. “You’re going to do that to the kid? I don’t know, bro. I think Ryan stops him maybe four or five rounds at 47. Because it’s also probably because of the weight cut, too. You know, it’s a combination of both. Ryan is way better than him to begin with, but then you also got the bad weight cut you’re going to deal with. I don’t know, bro. That doesn’t sound like a good recipe for me, in my opinion, for Conor. I don’t know if that’s the right fight for him.”

So looking back, one can only imagine what would have happened if Benn had taken the fights against Crocker and Kelly, as Hearn revealed. Those bouts, in hindsight, may have altered the trajectory of his career.

Now, with Benn heading into a high-stakes title path and scrutiny continuing to build, the pressure around his next move only intensifies.

The move to Zuffa may have secured him a multi-million dollar payday, but the risks surrounding his future have not gone away. In fact, they may now be even greater.