Boxing star Conor Benn issued a frank response to a pizza firm for trolling him after his failed drug test.
The 26-year-old was unable to take to the ring to fight Chris Eubank Jr last October after testing positive for clomiphene before the catchweight bout. Despite both Benn and Eubank wanting the fight to go ahead, the British Boxing Board of Control decided to cancel the O2 Arena bout.
But now Benn, who maintained his innocence from the beginning, has been cleared by the WBC and the explanation given was a 'highly-elevated consumption of eggs'. This prompted Domino's Pizza to tweet a picture of the popular Italian dish with a series of eggs photoshopped on to them. Poking fun at Benn, they wrote alongside the photo: “Introducing the Conor Benn special.”
The undefeated star opted to support one of their rivals and hit back: “I actually prefer @pizzahut.” The WBC removed Benn from their world rankings after he failed the VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) testing. But following an appeal lodged by Benn, he has now been reinstated.
Though his name has been cleared, Benn remains under investigation by UKAD and the British Boxing Board of Control and therefore still unable to box in the UK. However, despite the ongoing enquiries, Benn would be eligible to fight in another country with a different jurisdiction.
In a full statement by the World Boxing Council (WBC), the sanctioning body concluded that "there was no conclusive evidence that Mr. Benn engaged in intentional or knowing ingestion of clomifene".
It added: "There were no failures in the procedures related to sample collection, sample analysis, or violations of Mr. Benn's B Sample rights that would justify questioning or invalidating the Adverse Finding, and Mr. Benn's documented and highly-elevated consumption of eggs during the times relevant to the sample collection, raised a reasonable explanation for the Adverse Finding."
The BBBofC said it was aware of the WBC's findings but added: "Whilst the BBBofC wishes to make clear that it respects the WBC, the WBC is a sanctioning body and not a governing body. The decision of the WBC does not affect the ongoing implementation of the BBBofC's rules."
Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn, told Boxing Social the Brit was 'ready to resume his career'. "This is now about finding places for Conor Benn to box," Hearn said.
"Conor Benn can box anywhere in the world, but to box in the UK he has to go through a process, and we don't know how long that process is going to take. He's in the gym. He's been in the gym for the last six weeks. He's ready to fight."
Hearn added that Benn will be releasing an official statement as to the WBC’s findings in due course once he has held discussions with his legal team.
