DAZN Sends Cease-and-Desist Over Conor Benn Talks
DAZN sent Dana White a cease-and-desist after talks involving Ryan Garcia, and Eddie Hearn tied the move directly to the stalled path toward conor benn. Garcia is under an exclusive DAZN contract, and Hearn said White had already run into a second letter from Golden Boy and Oscar de la Hoya.
Eddie Hearn on DAZN
Hearn said the DAZN action came three or four days before his comments and that White had two cease-and-desist letters in hand. The promoter framed the dispute around Garcia’s contract status, saying the talks could not simply move forward outside that deal.
“The reason he’s thrown his toys out the pram about DAZN is because three or four days ago, DAZN issued a cease-and-desist on Dana White for talking to Ryan Garcia because Ryan Garcia is under an exclusive contract with DAZN,” Hearn said.
He added: “So Dana actually had two cease-and-desists, one from Golden Boy and Oscar de la Hoya and one from DAZN.”
Golden Boy and Zuffa Boxing
Golden Boy Promotions had already sent a cease-and-desist letter to Zuffa Boxing over unauthorized negotiation involving Garcia, so the latest move stacked a second formal objection onto the first. Hearn said Oscar de la Hoya and Golden Boy would be co-promoters if Garcia fought Benn, which puts the promotional side of the matchup at the center of the fight’s path.
He also went after Zuffa Boxing’s approach in blunt terms. “Some more pure arrogance from Zuffa Boxing and Dana White, who seem to be attracting a different lawsuit every week at the moment in boxing because the issue is—and I said this for these guys going in—they can’t control, these guys are control freaks,” Hearn said.
White, DAZN and boxing deals
White had criticized DAZN and said nobody watches the streaming service in the United States, and Hearn answered by pointing to the UFC’s own broadcast contracts with DAZN in key international markets. He also said Katie Taylor boxed on Netflix twice after negotiation with his broadcast partner, and Anthony Joshua, who is under an exclusive broadcast deal with DAZN, fought Jake Paul on Netflix after negotiation.
“This is how much Dana’s head is completely fallen off,” Hearn said, before repeating White’s criticism: “DAZN, who even watches DAZN? This is a joke, all these promoters getting together on DAZN.”
For the Garcia-Benn fight, the practical problem is no longer just whether the matchup has interest. It now sits inside two cease-and-desist letters, a DAZN exclusivity issue and a co-promotion question that has to be settled before the pairing can move as a clean boxing deal.
