This week will likely go down as yet another to forget for Conor Benn.
It was revealed during the ratings portion of the annual WBC convention Tuesday afternoon in Acapulco, Mexico that the second-generation boxer was removed from the sanctioning body’s welterweight rankings. Benn and promoter Matchroom Boxing have been presented with a Show Cause Notice from the WBO, who have granted a ten-day period from November 8 to show proof as to why the Puerto Rico-headquartered organization shouldn’t follow the WBC’s lead.
“Mr. Benn is hereby ordered to show cause within the next 10-days upon issuance of this notice as to why the WBO Ratings Committee should not suspend his rating position in the Welterweight Division,” WBO Ratings Committee chairman Samuel Viruet explained in a letter to all involved parties, a copy of which was obtained by BoxingScene.com. “Failure to comply with this order will constitute a waiver of all rights hereunder and with the Committee proceeding per WBO Regulations of World Championship Contest.”
The ruling stems from a positive drug test surrounding Benn’s eventually canceled grudge match with Chris Eubank Jr. which was due to take place October 8 at The O2 in London. Benn tested positive for Clomiphene, which is banned both with VADA and with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). VADA-contracted testing discovered the banned substance from a sample collected in early September. The result was reportedly learned by all involved parties on September 23. Plans remained in place to proceed with the event until a story appeared in The Daily Mail during the week of the fight unearthing the development, immediately after which point the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) announced its withdrawn sanctioning of the eventually canceled show.
The BBBoC also revealed that Benn’s boxing license was relinquished pending a hearing and subsequent investigation. Benn (21-0, 14KOs)—the son of former two-division titlist and UK boxing legend Nigel Benn—relinquished his license on the morning of a scheduled October 21 BBBoC hearing. The move forbids him from boxing anywhere in the UK as he and his team continue its own investigation in an effort to clear his name.
Benn entered November ranked in the top five of all the major sanctioning bodies—number four with both the WBA and WBO and number five with the WBC and IBF. The surrendering of his license also prevented Benn from being suspended, a technicality that was repeatedly pointed out by Matchroom staff. His placement in the WBO rankings triggered the move to provide the boxer with the Show Cause letter, per Section 19 of the WBO by-laws.
It was addressed during the ratings portion of the WBO convention, which was held in the final week of October in San Juan where his ranking placement was tabled pending further discussion. A similar argument was presented on Tuesday, when it was discovered during the ratings portion that Benn no longer appeared as a WBC-ranked welterweight.
“We obviously see that Conor Benn has been removed from the ratings. We request that he be entered back into the ratings,” argued Kevin Rooney Jr., matchmaker and event manager for Matchroom Boxing. “He is currently under no suspension by any commission or governing body. We expect resolution in the coming weeks or months.
“We’re asking for his hearing to take place before he is removed. We are asking to place him back at number five where he was.”
The call fell on deaf ears, as Benn’s positive drug test was deemed in violation of the WBC’s Clean Boxing Program, the sanctioning body’s random drug testing pool which all Top 15-ranked fighters are required to enter.
“You are correct that he is not suspended by any commission only because he withdrew his license,” noted Alberto Leon, WBC Vice President and chief legal counsel. “He is not licensed by the commission that administered the test. It doesn’t take away from the fact that he tested positive from both (“A” and “B”) samples. The WBC is looking into that. It is a very complex situation. The recommendation from the legal department is that he be kept out of the ratings in the meantime.
Added Mauricio Sulaiman, longtime WBC president: “Just to be clear, we are honoring the Clean Boxing Program protocol. When a fighter is in a situation where he is being investigated, he is placed as ‘NA/Legal’ and we conduct an investigation. We are in that process.
“We are in contact with Conor Benn and his legal team. We are going through that process to the fullest. Until that time, he will remain out of the rankings.”
For now, Benn will remain in the WBO welterweight rankings. That could change by November 18, by which time he needs to show proof as to why the sanctioning body shouldn’t find him in violation of its policy covering positive drug tests.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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