Embattled British welterweight Conor Benn is moving heaven and earth to return to the ring in June.

It is increasingly clear, however, that his comeback will not involve Chris Eubank Jr.

Eubank has long been rumored as a potential opponent for Benn’s much-discussed June 3 bout in Abu Dhabi, but that speculation has died down in recent weeks. Other opponents that have been mentioned as possible candidates are Manny Pacquiao and Kell Brook.

Eubank and Benn were originally supposed to fight last October, but Benn was revealed to have tested positive twice for the banned performance-enhancing substance clomifene.

Eubank then went on to face Liverpool’s Smith in January, suffering an unexpected fourth-round knockout loss. While Eubank activated his rematch clause with Smith, he also apparently started to entertain a renewed offer to face Benn. But recent developments have apparently made that matchup untenable, particularly the fact that United Kingdom Anti-Doping has provisionally suspended Benn. So long as that is the case, anyone involved in staging a fight with Benn stands to receive sanctions.

In a recent interview, Hearn admitted that he thinks Eubank has essentially put himself out of the running for the Benn fight. But he also made it clear that Eubank could potentially risk losing out on a Benn payday in the future if he decides to move forward with the Smith rematch first.

“He’s under a lot of pressure,” Hearn said of Eubank in an interview with iFL TV. “Look, Eubank wants to fight Conor Benn. The money for Liam Smith is poor. But the money for Conor Benn is huge. And if he loses to Liam Smith again he loses the Conor Benn fight forever.

"So, he’s waiting it out. But I think it’s probably likely that he’ll take the Liam Smith fight at this stage.”

Hearn professed to know little about Benn’s interactions with UKAD. It was reported that Benn has begun cooperating with the organization.

“I don’t know the conversations between Conor Benn’s team and UKAD,” Hearn said. “But from our point of view, we’re still looking at a June fight.”