British Boxing Board of Control pulls Benn v Eubank Jr after drug test fail

The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) has “prohibited” Saturday night’s fight between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr from taking place as “it is not in the interests of boxing”, the governing body has announced.

The move counters an earlier statement by the Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn that the fight between the sons of British boxing’s great middleweights would take place despite Conor Benn had returned an “adverse analytical finding for trace amounts of a fertility drug”.

Hearn then said in a video interview on social media after the BBBofC’s statement that he remained confident that the fight would go ahead, saying the matter was “with the lawyers, going backwards and forwards right now”.

The BBBofC’s statement read: “On the evening of 4 October 2022, the board of the British Boxing Board of Control Limited resolved that the contest between Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn scheduled to take place on 8 October 2022 is prohibited as it is not in the interests of boxing. That was communicated to the boxers and promoters involved on the morning of 5 October 2022.”

It has been reported that the 26-year-old fighter and son of the former world champion Nigel Benn was notified he had returned an adverse finding for the banned substance clomifene, prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Benn and Eubank Jr were set to meet in a catchweight contest in what would be the third bout between the families, after their fathers fought twice in the early-1990s in one of British boxing’s classic rivalries, but now the British governing body has intervened to scrap the bout.

Earlier, Hearn had stated: “We have been made aware that a random anti-doping test for Conor Benn conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association returned an adverse analytical finding for trace amounts of a fertility drug.

“The B sample has yet to be tested, meaning that no rule violation has been confirmed. Indeed, Mr Benn has not been charged with any rule violation, he is not suspended, and he remains free to fight. Mr Benn has since passed a doping control test conducted by the UK Anti-Doping Agency [Ukad], the anti-doping authority to which the British Board of Boxing Control has delegated its doping control testing for the bout. Mr Benn has passed all doping control tests conducted by Ukad.

“Both fighters have taken medical and legal advice, are aware of all relevant information, and wish to proceed with the bout this Saturday.”

Fight week media commitments had been due to start on Wednesday with the two fighters due to take part in a live workout at a venue in central London. The media workout was set to begin at 2pm, with Benn predicted to enter the ring at 3.25pm and Eubank Jr to follow him 10 minutes later.