Eddie Hearn claims Conor Benn snubbed two world title fights before dramatic split

Wait 5 sec.

Eddie Hearn claims Conor Benn turned his nose up at two world title fights before parting ways with Matchroom Boxing.Benn stunned the boxing world in February when he left his long-time promoter for Zuffa Boxing in a money-spinning one-fight deal worth a reported $15million (£11m).GettyConor Benn was victorious in his first fight since leaving Matchroom[/caption]‘The Destroyer’ cashed his eight-figure payday by outpointing a faded Regis Prograis last Saturday.Hearn, who watched the fight from ringside, admits Prograis wouldn’t have been his first choice opponent if he had been guiding Benn’s career off the back of a revenge win over Chris Eubank Jr.Instead, the boxing mogul had been eyeing up an IBF welterweight title fight with Lewis Crocker or an IBF super welterweight clash with Josh Kelly just before he snatched the belt from Bakhram Murtazaliev.When these fights were presented to Benn, however, he wasn’t on the same wavelength.“He knows his level. I wanted him to fight Lewis Crocker,” Hearn told assembled media on Thursday.“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 said], ‘I don’t want to fight Lewis Crocker, I don’t like Billy Nelson [Crocker’s former trainer]’.“I said, ‘What the f*** has that got to do with it? Just fight him’. “Then, we talked about Josh Kelly, [he said], ‘Nah, f*** Josh Kelly’.Eddie Hearn was keen for Benn to face Crocker, but ‘The Destroyer’ turned it down because of trainer Billy NelsonGettyGettyHe also snubbed a fight with Josh Kelly[/caption]“I actually think that he is right [to do that] because he is only going to make a few million to fight those guys and Zuffa just s**** their load giving him 15 [million] to fight a bloke who couldn’t even stand up!”Who is Conor Benn fighting next?While Benn showed very little interest in facing Crocker and Kelly, he will more than likely challenge for a world title next.The 29-year-old is the mandatory challenger for WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia, and the fight is seemingly on the verge of being signed.According to BoxingScene, both parties are in advanced negotiations over an August date in Las Vegas, with Netflix and DAZN eyed as potential broadcasters.‘King Ry’ has since confirmed these reports during a recent live stream.He said: “It’s gonna be in August. We’re gonna have it in Vegas.“Yeah, we’re gonna eat that up. Conor’s about to get blasted, guys.”Boxing scheduleFor all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s  boxing schedule.