Eddie Hearn has indicated that he is close to putting on the finishing touches to Conor Benn’s ring return.
The promoter of the embattled British welterweight contender informed an outlet on Thursday that he has whittled down the number of potential opponents for Benn to three and that a fight is “close” to being finalized.
Hearn said June is the target date for Benn, whose career has become shrouded in doubt ever since he tested positive twice for the banned performance-enhancing drug clomifene. The revelation of the second test led to the cancellation of his highly publicized catchweight fight with Chris Eubank Jr. last October.
Benn is currently being investigated by the British Boxing Board of Control, with whom he has butted heads repeatedly. Without the clearance that can only be granted by that governing body, Benn is unable to legally fight in his homeland. That circumstance has led Hearn to explore other options for his charge, such as having him fight in the United States or the Middle East.
After weeks of hinting that Benn could fight in foreign territory, Hearn offered his most direct comment on the situation.
“His next fight will not be in Britain and that will be announced in due course,” Hearn told iFL TV.
“The whole world is going to watch,” Hearn continued. “It’s going to take place in June. It’s gonna be a massive fight. As I said, we are close to agreeing that fight and signing the contract.”
BoxingScene.com understands Benn is set to fight June 3 in Abu Dhabi.
Hearn said that two of the potential opponents for Benn are Manny Pacquiao and Chris Eubank Jr. However, Eubank has already triggered his rematch clause to fight Liam Smith later this year, so that does not seem like a likely option.
Talk of a Pacquiao-Benn fight has ramped up in recent weeks, but it is unclear how serious negotiations are for that match-up.
Hearn did not mention who the third opponent under consideration is.
“There are three fights that we are looking at for Conor Benn next,” Hearn said. “[Pacquiao] is one of the fights. Chris Eubank Jr. is another fight, which, personally, Conor Benn wants that fight badly. And then there’s another fight as well.
“We’ve had multiple offers from the Middle East for Manny Pacquiao against Conor Benn. We’re seeing if that is going to progress. There has been no contract sent to Manny Pacquiao. There has been conversations and negotiations with Manny Pacquiao’s team and [Pacquiao advisor] Sean Gibbons. No decision on the opponent but it will be fairly imminent.”
Benn became the recipient of some positive news last month when the World Boxing Council decided to reinstate the boxer into its welterweight rankings. The sanctioning body, which had launched its own investigation into one or two of Benn’s failed drug tests, determined that they deemed plausible the explanation that Benn had accidentally ingested clomifene, a fertility drug, by eating a “highly elevated consumptions of eggs.”
Curiously, Benn has taken issue with the WBC’s line, rejecting the notion that he ever had clomifene in his body. Despite his protestations, Benn has used the WBC verdict as a rallying cry for himself.
In a widely discussed tell-all, Benn went on talk show host Piers Morgan’s show to offer his most substantial comments on his drug scandal. In the interview, Benn claimed he was fine with the prospect of being able to fight in England for the foreseeable future. Benn also spoke about his antipathy for the Board, whom he has threatened to sue.
Hearn said he hopes to act as a buffer between Benn and the Board, as the promoter believes there are too many “huge fights” waiting for his charge in his homeland.
“For the long-term future of Conor Benn it’s important for him to fight in this country,” Hearn said. “At the moment, he don’t care about fighting in this country. I want him to fight in this country. There are some huge fights for him in this country.
“Conor does need to get over the argument with the Board. He feels really badly done by the Board. I don’t think the Board have acted brilliantly well at this. I think everyone has made mistakes. But I want Conor Benn to fight in Britain. So we will be trying to bridge the gap between Conor Benn and the Board to try and make that happen.”