Eddie Hearn's ruthless response when asked if Conor Benn can become world champion after receiving shock fight offer
Eddie Hearn didn't hold back when asked about Conor Benn's chances of becoming a world champion after his brutal loss to Ryan Garcia.
Early on Sunday morning, Benn suffered the most devastating loss of his career as he missed out on a chance to become world champion for the first time after suffering a knockout loss to WBC welterweight champion Garcia in Las Vegas.
In the wake of the fight, questions have been raised about Benn's ability to ever win a world title, despite being offered the chance to "skip the queue" for another championship fight, something that Hearn has offered a scathing view on.
READ MORE: Conor Benn gives incredible response to 'silk pyjamas' question after making $30m in one year
Eddie Hearn gives brutal reaction to Conor Benn's world championship hopes
After a decade working with Matchroom Boxing since he turned professional in 2016, Benn made a shock move to join Zuffa in February, in a move that promoter Hearn described as a "dagger in the heart".
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Since then, the Matchroom chief hasn't been shy to speak about how he really feels about Benn, correctly predicting that his former fighter would lose via knockout within the opening three rounds.
And now that the fight is over, Hearn has taken the opportunity to speak out once again, and he didn't hold back
"My last few predictions were that I thought Ryan Garcia would win inside three rounds," Hearn told iFL TV.
"Remember, I've been around Conor Benn his whole career. I know him pretty well and I just felt that he looked lost. I don't know. Didn't really look like himself. Maybe it was just weight.
"The thing is that Conor's the kind of guy that will be holding weight for a long time, does that make sense? I don't think Conor Benn, because of how light he came in, I don't think he crashed the weight 24 hours before.
"I think he would have brought his weight down and I think over a period of time, with how hard Conor Benn trains, he just looked like—I don't know whether it was his confidence or—He looked lost. In the ring, he looked all over the place.
"Jumping around, diving in, he looked like a rabbit in headlights."
Although he admitted that there may be some bias due to how things with Benn played out earlier this year, Hearn later added that he didn't think of the Brit as a world-class fighter and doubted his ability to win a championship, certainly not at welterweight.
"I suppose I've got more reasons than most to sort of throw him to the wolves, if you like, but I don't think there's any need to," Hearn added.
"Listen, obviously I'm extremely conflicted. My job is to hype up a fighter and position him into big fights, and I'm not going to sit here now and say, 'He was never any good. And I never really believed in him,' because I do think Conor Benn is a good fighter and I think that he has also improved so much. … He deserves a lot of credit for how hard he's worked to get in that position.
"Now is he world class? I think what we've found it is no he's not, but it doesn't mean he's not a good fighter. It doesn't mean he's southern area title-level.
"I just don't think he's good enough to win a world title or box that level, particularly at a weight class that's actually not suited to him."
Conor Benn offered surprise world title fight after Ryan Garcia loss
Despite this, it appears Benn may have a chance to return to the ring for another world title fight a lot sooner than expected,
For the shot against Garcia, the Brit had to drop a massive amount of weight, topping the scales at 146lbs, before putting on 32lbs inside the following 12 hours through rehydration.
The weight limit at welterweight stands at 147lbs, but it stands at a considerably higher level of 160lbs at middleweight, Benn's natural weight.
And should Benn decide to return to boxing at middleweight, he has been offered the opportunity to fight WBO middleweight champion Denzel Bentley.
"In my eyes, I feel like his profile is big enough for him to skip the queue," Bentley told Sky Sports.
"It's unfair, but that's the sport we're in. Obviously it's beneficial for me, especially financially. So 100 per cent that's the fight I would take.
"I've never had any beef with Conor, we've always been cool. But if he is coming to the 160lb division, he goes from a companion to a potential challenger."
But, after Benn's statement admitting that his future in boxing was uncertain, it is unclear if the 29-year-old would take the chance to fight Bentley or if that's something he's not thinking about in the wake of the Garcia loss.
READ MORE: Ryan Garcia told only one man in boxing can defeat him after destroying Conor Benn
Topics: Boxing, Eddie Hearn, Conor Benn, Ryan Garcia
Ben McCrum