Chris Eubank Jr's fight with Conor Benn could be staged as an exhibition bout after the British Board of Boxing Control refused to sanction the contest.
Eubank Jr and Benn were set to touch gloves at London's O2 arena this Saturday in a settling of their families' bitter rivalry, 32 years on from when their fathers first met in the ring. However the event was thrown into chaos after it emerged Benn failed a VADA drug test in August, which saw the BBBofC prohibit the fight from taking place.
Despite the governing body's refusal to sanction the clash, both promoters Eddie Hearn and Kalle Sauerland released a joint statement insisting that the fight will go ahead as planned. And Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn has revealed there are plenty of options they are looking to explore to ensure the fight proceeds as usual.
"There are many things we can do," Hearn told Behind The Gloves when asked if the fight with Eubank Jr and Benn will take place. "We can use another commission, we can file an injunction or we can have an exhibition fight. But ultimately we want to do things in the right way and we have a governing body who we respect but we need communication.
"They have known about this as long as we know about this, the information was shared with all parties and analysed by all parties. Most importantly with team Eubank to make sure they were happy with the trace amounts and all the other testing, and that they were happy to proceed with the bout on the medical advice they took.
"We didn't expect there to be a problem with the fight because all of Conor's UKAD tests have been negative. He hasn't been suspended and there is no violation so if that's the case he is clear to fight. But the board have come up with this thing today saying 'it is not in the interest of boxing for him to fight'. We need communication otherwise we will have to act accordingly."
Would you rather see Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn as an exhibition or see it cancelled? Let us know in the comments section below
Eubank Jr and Benn attended yesterday's open workout despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the fight, with a resolution yet to be found to get the fight on with the permission of a governing body. 'The Destroyer' broke his silence yesterday in front of the media, insisting that he was clean and has not violated any rules.
"I have not committed any violations and I've not been suspended," Benn said. "As far as I'm concerned the fight is going to go ahead. I've spoken to Chris personally and we both want the fight to go ahead. We've both taken legal and medical advice and we want the fight to happen for the fans. I have signed up to every test under the sun, all my UKAD tests have come back negative throughout my career and even in the lead-up to this fight my tests have come up negative."
