Conor Benn voluntarily relinquished his British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) licence ahead of a hearing around ‘allegations of misconduct’ last week, the organisation has said.
In a statement released on Wednesday (26 October), the BBBofC said the allegations against Benn had been upheld.
The news comes three weeks after the Briton saw his scheduled bout with Chris Eubank Jr cancelled after testing positive for a banned substance.
Benn, 26, was due to face compatriot Eubank Jr, 33, at London’s O2 Arena on 8 October, but the fight was called off two days beforehand, with the BBBofC declaring that the catchweight contest was ‘prohibited’ from taking place.
Benn returned an adverse test result with traces of the fertility drug clomifene, but maintained his innocence. “I am truly gutted that we were unable to make this fight happen [...] and I’m sorry to everyone who has been affected by the postponement,” he wrote on social media. “I am still completely shocked and surprised by this.
“My team and I will consider the next options including rescheduling the fight, but my immediate focus is on clearing my name because I am a clean athlete!”
Benn and Eubank were set to square off almost exactly 29 years to the day after their fathers fought one another for the second time. Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank engaged in one of British boxing’s most-storied rivalries, with Eubank Sr stopping Benn in 1990 before the pair drew in their 1993 rematch.
Eubank Sr has joined his old rival in defending Conor Benn.
“When I look at a fighter, I look at the spirit in the man,” Eubank Sr, 56, told The Fight Is Right this month. “Conor would have had no idea, in my view, of what [his team] would suggest he should have.
“I’ve seen them do it, I’ve watched them. These are men who are going to be rooted out of this game, because they’re not fighters, they’re PE [physical education] teachers.”
Meanwhile, Nigel Benn said: “We are in total shock. I’ve been with my son for the last 10 weeks, and training has gone just the best it could ever have been. He is a dedicated trainer, he leaves no stone unturned, and we’ll get to the bottom of this.
“I know he doesn’t cut no corners, he just goes straight at it, 100 per cent. We’ll keep you informed and let you know what the next step is. He’s a faithful trainer and he’s a clean athlete.”
