Eddie Hearn has given an update on the situation regarding Conor Benn following his failed drug tests.
A banned substance – Clomifene – was found in Benn’s system and caused his fight with Chris Eubank Jr on Saturday 8th October to be cancelled last minute. The scrap would have seen a family rivalry reignited, and had managed to capture the attention of a mainstream audience unlike many others.
Despite the shocking revelations, Conor Benn has remained adamant that he is innocent and his promoter, Hearn, told Boxing Social that the hearing to clear his name has now began.
“The hearing is underway. The WBC have now launched that, and I think timing wise I really don’t know. I don’t think it’s going to be a million miles away, two weeks, I don’t know.”
Regardless of the decision, Hearn still believes Benn vs Eubank Jr. is a big fight. He claimed everybody still wants to make it happen, whether Conor Benn is to be clear to box immediately or serves his ban.
“Ultimately nothing’s changed you know I said, you’re either gonna get a situation where he’s found not guilty or he receives a ban and what we want to do is speed up that process, obviously we want to get that as quick as possible. We want to make Chris Eubank against Conor Benn, so does Kalle [Sauerland], so does everybody but he’s either got to be clear to box or he’s got to serve the ban. So, until that happens, we just don’t know but that process is underway now.”
Although Benn continues to express his innocence, it’s not certain he will be found to be, with the possibility of a ban still very much a realistic outcome.
Despite the lack of clarity, there is hope that a decision is near and fans can still see the historic fight sometime in the not too distant future. Whether the appetite for it will be the same is a different story