The British Boxing Board of Control may change their anti-doping regulations in response to the Conor Benn saga, general secretary Robert Smith has confirmed.
Benn and the Board remain in dispute after they decided against sanctioning his October clash with Chris Eubank Jr because the 26-year-old tested positive for trace amounts of the banned substance Clomifine during a VADA test.
Benn, who vehemently protests his innocence despite failing two tests for the same substance, has since declared that he plans on suing the Board for a loss of earnings and the damage to his reputation.
This is partly because the welterweight passed all his tests with UK Anti-Doping, which is the agency that the BBBoC abide by.
However, Smith maintains that their decision to not sanction this fight based on a test by VADA was the correct decision and confirmed that it could set a new precedent for them going forward.
Speaking to the George Groves Boxing Club, he said: “There is a procedure for anti-doping. We are signed up like every other sport in Great Britain, to UKAD. So they deal with all our anti-doping testing and disciplinary matters etc. Once we get a positive then it’s down to UKAD and they can deal with it.
“We do what’s right. You can’t ignore positive tests.
“Maybe we have to [change]. Once this case is finished maybe we have to change our regulations with regard to that. I think our regulations currently cover it but maybe they need to be tweaked. You can argue against any regulation you want to but we are satisfied that what we’ve done is right.”
One main area of contention for Eddie Hearn, the promoter of the cancelled fight, was that the Board took too long to make their decision which meant it was deep into fight week when the show was pulled completely.
Smith said: “The argument that it took too long, I take that on the chin but this is not an easy situation to be in.
“I’ve got no problem. I spoke to Eddie the other day, went to a show, shook his hand, asked him how he’s getting on. I’ve got no issue with Eddie Hearn personally at all. He’s got his job to do, I’ve got my job to do, sometimes they clash.
“Eddie is a great promoter, Matchroom are a great organization and I’ve got no issue whatsoever. We’re just going through a problem that is unusual.”