Conor Benn had one demand for leaving Matchroom and signing with Zuffa: “It was a must”

Conor Benn has opened up on his one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing, revealing the one key condition that he had when deciding the leave Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom for Dana White’s new company.

White launched Zuffa Boxing, a joint venture between Sela and TKO Group, with the goal of disrupting the sport – introducing a UFC-esque approach to promoting with less weight-classes and his own championship belts taking precedence over the more traditional WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF.

However, in an interview with talkSPORT Boxing, Benn has now revealed that he still intends to fight for the WBC world title this year, with that being his standout demand when negotiating the deal after years of targeting the belt.

“I made sure nothing would change, I want the WBC world title this year; that is a must.

“I don’t know the politics of it all or what has been said, I don’t know what Zuffa are doing but I will fight for the [WBC] world title by the end of the year.”

How Zuffa will work with the four major sanctioning bodies remains to be seen, but Jai Opetaia being stripped of his IBF crown this week signalled that it may not be plain sailing.

Benn debuts with Zuffa Boxing in two weeks’ time, taking on Regis Prograis in a 150lb catchweight affair on the Tyson Fury-Arslanbek Makhmudov undercard on Saturday, April 11.

In the same interview, he reiterated that the deal was for one fight only and he is not yet sure what the future holds. The Brit is currently number one challenger with the WBC at welterweight, and is aiming for a shot at champion Ryan Garcia.