Promoter Frank Warren believes the Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn catastrophe was a new nadir for boxing.
Last week, the Daily Mail revealed that Benn tested positive for clomifene, a performance enhancing drug banned by VADA, the agency that administered the test and disclosed the findings. The news threw a wrench into the highly anticipated event. Ben, a welterweight, was set to face Eubank, a middleweight, in a 157-pound catchweight bout last Saturday night at The O2 in London. After the British Boxing Board of Control refused to sanction the bout, the organizers of the event, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing and Kalle Sauerland of Wasserman, decided to pull the plug on the fight.
Initially, it appeared that Hearn and Co. were keen on moving forward with the show and were reportedly considering using an outside, albeit fringe, commission, such as the Luxembourg Boxing Federation. Moreover, there were also reports that Hearn was attempting to fight the Board’s verdict via court veto. The argument there appeared to hinge on the fact that Benn did not test positive under UKAD, the testing agency that works in tandem with the BBBofC (as opposed to VADA, which is voluntary and paid for by the promoters), and on that logic, since Benn was not under suspension by the BBBofC, he would be free to fight.
Lending further ignominy to the event is the understanding that the drug test results were known to the relevant parties for at least two weeks, in late September. Because of this, many believe that the fight would have gone ahead had the Daily Mail not published its reporting.
In a recent interview, Warren, a rival promoter of Hearn, condemned the organizers as well as the Board for sitting on Benn’s drug test results.
“It was a low for British boxing, a low for the sport,” Warren told iFL TV. “It was handled pretty badly. The fact that it took so long to let the penny drop that the fight can never go forward. Some of the stuff that has come out since about the Board being sued … it’s crazy. The fact of the matter is Conor tested positive and everybody was made aware of it on the 23rd of September by VADA.
“And the Board of Control, it is in their power to stop a fight and it’s rule 98 [in their rulebook]. The Board or any area of council has the power to prohibit any contest, which in their opinion, is not in the interest of boxing. So no one can tell me that a catchweight fight, which we all had reservations about … they were trying to put forward a fight with someone who tested positive for a drug that is on the banned list with VADA.
“So how on earth did it get to where it got to? It’s just ridiculous. And it’s really dangerous. And handled terribly badly. It just brought boxing into disrepute. It was just awful.”
Warren said if he were in Hearn’s position, he would have “cancelled” the show immediately.
Warren also insisted that aside from Benn, the people who supplied Benn with the alleged drugs need to be brought forward and penalized.
“The man that is going to take the brunt of it is Conor,” Warren said. “Now, he took the stuff. And if he took the stuff, he’s over 21 he knows what he’s doing.
“But someone must have supplied him with it. Someone must have advised him to take it, so they should be brought to task as well too.”
