Eddie Hearn has called for Conor Benn to be given the opportunity to clear his name, after his failed drugs test shelved his scheduled clash with Chris Eubank Jr on Saturday.
Hearn, Benn’s promoter made the decision alongside Kalle Sauerland, Eubank Jr’s promoter on Thursday to postpone the fight which was set to take place in front of a sold out O2 Arena, after it was reported a day earlier that trace amounts of the banned substance Clomiphene were detected in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Test [VADA].
Benn has vowed to clear his name and insisted he is a clean athlete and has been backed by Chris Eubank Sr, while Hearn has urged people to reserve their judgement until the 26-year-old has been given the right to protest the “adverse analytical finding.”
“He’s got a big fight on his hands,” Hearn told Matchroom Boxing’s YouTube channel.
“There’s a lot of information that we know about the testing that will come to light.
“Everyone’s very quick to make their assumptions as always in this situation.
“We’ve seen it before with Dillian Whyte and I didn’t see many people apologise when Dillian Whyte was cleared of all charges and was actually completely innocent in that situation.
“Conor Benn will have the right to clear his name. People should let him do that.”
Hearn’s mention of Dillian Whyte refers to when it was reported that the Londoner had failed a UKAD test prior to his win over Oscar Rivas in 2019, although he maintained his innocence.
However, UKAD later cleared ‘The Body Snatcher’ of any wrongdoing following an investigation.
According to the report which was broken by The Daily Mail, all parties were made aware of the test result on September 23.
Shortly after the story was published, the BBBofC announced the fight was “prohibited as it is not in the interests of boxing.”
Hearn took exception to the board’s decision noting that the BBBofC are governed under UK Anti-Doping [UKAD] to which Benn passed all tests for in the lead-up to the bout, rather than by VADA.
The Matchroom Chairman has denied suggestions that the parties notified were looking to hide the evidence to ensure the fight would go ahead.
The bout had generated major interest especially in the UK and was expected to do huge numbers on DAZN pay-per-view, reigniting a famous British rivalry, which saw both men’s fathers, Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn involved in two memorable battles in the 1990’s.
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“I’ve seen the criticism of course, but also understand this wasn’t something that was kept from anybody,” he added.
“It was discussed between all parties involved in the fight from the fighters, to the promoters, to the commission and we have to let the commission do their job, which ultimately they did.
“It wasn’t a case that the story stopped the fight.
“The commission had made their decision before any story came out in the media and we had to go through that process, because as I said once you found out the information regarding the testing, it was a difficult decision because people were comfortable with the scientific facts around that.
“So we wanted Conor Benn to have his opportunity as many have before to be heard. That will now happen post-fight and obviously [with] the fight not taking place.
“But, let him have that time. Let him have that moment. It’s obviously a very important time for him now, because some people have made their minds up as they have done before.
“Let the facts come out and make your decision.”
The Daily Mail reported on Friday that UKAD are set to launch their own investigation into the test result and will write to VADA to request analysis of the finding.
Benn, undefeated in his 21-fight career, could reportedly face a four year ban unless he can prove his innocence or provide mitigating circumstances for the result.
