LONDON (Reuters) – British welterweight Conor Benn has been provisionally suspended by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) after two failed voluntary drugs tests last year that forced the postponement of his fight against Chris Eubank Jr, the organisation said on Thursday.
Benn, 26, was scheduled to take on Eubank Jr last October in London in a much-hyped fight between the sons of two former arch-rivals but it was called off after Benn returned a finding for trace amounts of fertility drug clomifene.
He was subsequently cleared of intentional doping by the WBC boxing body, which said a “highly elevated consumption of eggs” was a reasonable explanation for the failed tests.
Undefeated Benn, who has reiterated his innocence, voluntarily relinquished his British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) licence after the Eubank Jr fight was called off, vowing to clear his name.
“Following reports in the media and comments made by professional boxer Mr Conor Benn on Tuesday 18 April 2023, and in exceptional circumstances, UKAD confirms that Mr Benn was notified and provisionally suspended by UKAD on 15 March 2023 in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules,” a statement read.
“UKAD can also confirm that on 3 April 2023 it charged Mr Benn with an Article 2.2 violation for the alleged Use of a Prohibited Substance (clomifene). The charge against Mr Benn is pending and will now follow the Results Management process in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules.”
Benn, who could face a two-year ban, said he was still free to fight outside the UK in events not sanctioned by the BBBofC and accused UKAD of “leaks and misrepresentations”.
“Another day, another attempt to create a headline with my name,” the son of former super-middleweight world champion Nigel Benn said on Twitter following the release of UKAD’s statement.
“There is no news. Being ‘charged’ is a start of a process by which an athlete has to defend themselves.
“I have not been sanctioned by anyone and I’m not banned from boxing. I remain free to fight in events that are not sanctioned by the BBBoC. I don’t even have a BBBoC licence.”
Last month in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Benn said the controversy had left him feeling suicidal.
“It’s hard because I felt like I was on death row for something I haven’t even done… I felt seven years of hard work and sacrifice, and leaving my family and the image I maintain, was just ruined by somebody else’s incompetence,” he said.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
