Eddie Hearn brutally hits back after Conor Benn denied being loaned £500,000

Eddie Hearn has launched a scathing attack on Connor Benn after the boxer denied he borrowed money from the boxing promoter.

Benn stunned the boxing world back in February when he split from Hearn and signed a one-fight, $15million deal with UFC CEO Dana White's Zuffa Boxing promotion. The British boxing star is set to make his debut for the organisation next weekend against Regis Prograis on the undercard of Tyson Fury's comeback fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Following the stunning news, the Matchroom chief claimed he had loaned Benn over £500,000 in the aftermath of his failed drug test in 2022 which saw his clash with Chris Eubank Jr cancelled at the last minute. While Hearn revealed Benn had since paid him back, the fighter has denied he ever took money from Hearn.

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

. Just days after the interview went viral, Hearn has hit back. The 46-year-old detailed the two times he loaned Benn money to make whopping purchases. The first was £250,000 to purchase a house, and the second coming when he gave the British boxer a £300,000 advance ahead of his scrapped meeting with Eubank Jr.

“Right now, I’m watching this stuff, thinking, ‘I just actually think you might be a compulsive liar,'” Hearn told

. He added: “So, Conor Benn buys a house very close to the office…he says, ‘I can’t believe I’ve got this house. I can’t believe it.’ I said, ‘You know what, mate?’ I said, ‘I’m so happy for you.’ I said, ‘Let’s get this mortgage paid off. But I bet you, in a few months’ time, as you continue to earn money, you’ll actually move out of here and you’ll want a bigger house.'

“So, he come to me, and he said, ‘I can’t afford it right now, but it’s a great opportunity to buy.’ He said, ‘Would you lend me the money?’ I was like, ‘What we talking’?’ He says, ‘Quarter of a million,'” said Hearn. The Matchroom chief the claims to have lent Benn the money before being paid back after fighting three or four months later.

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However, it was not long before the British fighter was back in the promoter's offer. “He wanted to buy a Rolls-Royce”, Hearn continued. “I was like, ‘Brilliant. Blinding. He said, ‘Could I borrow some money?'” After accepting, Hearn agreed with Benn that it would be an advance on his purse for the Eubank Jr fight in 2022.

The son of British boxing legend Nigel Benn initially spent the money on a Rolls-Royce, but Hearn believes he may have sold the flashy motor to help fund his legal bills after he failed a drug test ahead of his cancelled meeting with Eubank Jr. Eventually, the famous boxing promoter got back his £300,000 repayment three years later following Benn's first meeting with Eubank Jr at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.