Eddie Hearn rules out possibility of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn going ahead with backing of ‘foreign commission’
Eddie Hearn has ruled out the possibility of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn going ahead with the backing of an alternative boxing commission or governing body.
The British Boxing Board of Control took the step of ‘prohibiting’ Saturday’s grudge match at the O2 Arena after it emerged Benn has returned an ‘adverse’ finding during a drug test thought to have been taken in September.
Benn tested positive for the banned substance clomifene, which can be used to boost testosterone levels.
The 26-year-old has not been suspended with Matchroom Boxing insisting in a statement he is ‘free to fight’. Wednesday’s decision from the BBBoC has led to a number of other options being discussed however with both fighters and their promoters adamant the show will go on.
Reports have suggested that as many as three overseas sanctioning bodies are ready to step in and give the fight the green light should Hearn and Eubank’s promoter Kalle Sauerland fail to get the British authorities back on side.
Giving an update on the situation on Thursday afternoon, Hearn tweeted: ‘Let’s see what today brings but to make one thing clear, I will not be promoting this fight with a foreign commission or alternative governing body on Saturday night.’
Amid the confusion, a previous precedent has been noted from the 2012 fight between David Haye and Dereck Chisora, which was officially sanctioned by the Luxembourg Boxing Federation.
<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>Letâs see what today brings but to make one thing clear, I will not be promoting this fight with a foreign commission or alternative governing body on Saturday nightChisora had been stripped of his British boxing licence after a string of incidents including a brawl with Haye in Munich the previous