Promoter of British welterweight (up to 66.7 kg) Conor Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) Eddie Hearn (matchroom)
commented the decision of the British Boxing Control Council to ban Benn’s October 8 bout against fellow middleweight Chris Eubank Jr (32-2, 23 KOs).
Streaming broadcaster DAZN has scheduled a pay-per-view boxing evening, but the event is on the brink of collapse. The reason for this is the failed voluntary doping test of the VADA agency, which found traces of the prohibited substance clomiphene in Benn’s body. As a result, the British Boxing Control Board banned the main event of the evening.
- Chris Eubank – Conor Benn: forecast and bets for the fight on October 8
— Look, we can do a lot of things. We can use another commission, we can protest the ban, we can do an exhibition fight, but in general we want to get things right. We have a government body that we respect, but we need communication and we don’t get much response from them. They know as much about it as we do. All this happened behind a curtain. Information was provided to all participants, it was analyzed by all participants and, most importantly, by the Eubank team. We made sure that they were satisfied with the amount of traces of the substance found, blood tests and all kinds of related tests. They agreed to fight on the medical orders they received.
We didn’t expect there to be a problem with the fight because the British Boxing Control Board doesn’t recognize the VADA tests. They have their own agency – UKAD. And Benn’s UKAD tests were all negative. Therefore, he is not suspended, there are no prohibitions and so on. And if there is no suspension, then the fighter can fight. But the Council came out with a different initiative – that it was not interested in holding a duel. They seem to want to remove him. Is it being done against Eubank, is it being done in general, is it being done this Saturday or next? Too many uncertainties. And we do not want to follow the legal path of finding a solution. I don’t mean to say that we need to forget about this test, but we need to allow someone to conduct a hearing and an investigation.
A few years ago, we already went through a similar process, where the whole world was angry at Saunders, and he was found not guilty. But such a process should not affect the Council’s decision, as they cannot and will not remove him. He’s clean to fight, but he’s not allowed to. The organization does not sanction the fight this Saturday.
Once again, you need to have conversations with them to put everything on the shelves. We need communication, otherwise we will act accordingly.
- Haye, Chisora and Luxembourg: Eubank-Benn fight will still take place?
Your position differs from what Sky and the Council report. They say the fight is completely cancelled.
– At the current moment, the Council decided not to sanction the duel.
Is this the final decision?
– Not necessary. The court will make the final decision. Other commissions may allow the fight, but that’s not what we want to do. I don’t want to do this, but we will if we don’t get answers.
We had a very similar situation with Billy Joe Saunders. VADA found the banned substance, the Massachusetts commission, which recognizes VADA, found him guilty and suspended him. The British Council said: “No, you are not suspended, you can fight because we do not recognize the VADA agency.” So here is the precedent. So it would be better for the Council to suspend Connor Ben, but they can’t because they don’t recognize these tests. And on all UKAD tests, he’s clean and innocent. They decided he couldn’t fight this Saturday. And when can? To the next? If you do not remove him, then he can fight! This is not an easy situation for everyone, including the Council. But we need a hearing, we need something to figure out what the process will be.
But when will all this be revealed? The press conference is already on the way.
“This is an unusual situation. Once again, the decision is very fresh in terms of what can happen to the fight. We went through this process last week. Most importantly, we went through this process with the Eubank team. All information has been received. There were no excess testosterone levels, the doctors approved that there were no moments affecting the performance, and the fight would take place.
- Warren on Eubank-Benn doping scandal – ‘Council did the right thing’