David Benavidez has no shortage of HUGE fights on his radar. In an exclusive interview with BoxingScene, Jose Benavidez Sr. makes it clear that David still wants the biggest names at 175lbs including Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez has previously said those are two fights he wants to make as he pursues more titles and major challenges. But there’s another name that could make things very interesting: Andy Ruiz Jr. Jose discusses the possibility of an all-Mexican showdown between Benavidez and the former heavyweight champion, along with David’s plans across multiple divisions. And with a potential Jai Opetaia showdown also building after the pair came face-to-face following Opetaia’s latest victory, Benavidez has some massive options ahead.
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As previously reported, UK Anti-Doping and the British Boxing Board of Control have appealed a recent decision to lift Conor Benn's suspension from boxing.
The unbeaten welterweight contender, 26-years-old, tested positive for the banned substance clomifene in two separate drug tests administered by VADA in 2022.
The second positive test played a role in derailing Benn's scheduled fight with Chris Eubank Jr. last October. The event was canceled during fight week, when news first broke that Benn had tested positive for a banned substance.
In March, UKAD would provisionally suspend Benn.
However, the independent National Anti-Doping Panel lifted his suspension after a hearing.
According to reports, the big issue at hand is jurisdiction.
Benn, who last year gave up his boxing license with the BBBofC, argued through his legal team that UKAD had no jurisdiction to punish him - because his adverse tests were administered by VADA. But, VADA is an independent reporting agency and does not punish boxers.
Benn also underwent an investigation with the WBC. The sanctioning body said it did not believe Benn was guilty of "intentional doping" and felt that a "highly elevated consumption of eggs" could have caused a positive test. The unbeaten boxer would later state that eggs were never offered as a defense by his team.
Eddie Hearn, who promotes Benn, is confident his boxer will overcome the newest legal hurdle and expects him to get his career back on track.
"It's a disappointing. I feel like he's gone through every process that's been asked of him. The Board left it to the last day or two days before to appeal. He's got to go through this process again. I believe he'll win again. But I expected [them to appeal] as I said. Nothing surprises me at the moment with the process. It's another fight he's got to win, we expect him to win," Hearn told Boxing Social.
"He can fight, now. He has an international license. He can ask for permission to box in the UK. He's not suspended by UKAD. I don't think they can stop him. It would be a strange move to not allow him to fight in the UK, but he can also fight in America, now. He's not suspended by UKAD, he's not suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control. But I don't think this process is one of huge length. We'll get with the team tomorrow, we've got a meeting, and then we'll look at the process. It's just another small fight to win in the Conor Benn journey."
