Eddie Hearn has approached numerous commissions in the US about the possibility of obtaining a boxing licence for Conor Benn even though investigations into the fighter’s positive results for clomifene in two separate tests last year remain incomplete.
Clomifene can boost testosterone levels by up to 50% but Hearn said he believes Benn will receive an American licence in “a couple of weeks”.
A source had said Hearn’s company Matchroom Boxing, which promotes Benn, had reached out to Jeff Mullen, the executive director of the Nevada Commission, to discuss the granting of a licence to the British fighter. When contacted to verify this information, Hearn said: “We’ve spoken to a number of commissions about moving forward with licensing Conor, but have not made any official applications yet.”
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Hearn added: “I will only look to get him licensed in countries that have some relevance. For example, it’s very likely his next fight will be in America, so we move forward with an American commission. Also his family live in Australia, and he spends a great amount of time there, so Australia could be an option. I’m not going to Luxembourg or somewhere that doesn’t have relevance to his career. There have been preliminary talks with [US] commissions … about a month ago.”
Hearn was asked to clarify whether or not he had spoken to Mullen in Nevada last week in the wake of a WBC ruling which said it had accepted what it called a “reasonable explanation” that Benn’s positive test had been caused by a “highly elevated consumption of eggs”. Hearn said: “It’s not my field. I believe our legal team may have had a conversation with Nevada. I honestly don’t know. But we also have calls scheduled with the British Boxing Board of Control [BBBoC] to discuss the issue. Ultimately he will be licensed in the next couple of weeks.”
Benn has not been cleared by either the BBBoC or UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) and neither organisation has been granted access to the 270-page report which the boxer’s team have compiled in an attempt to clear his name. Serious questions remain about the two positive tests that are a matter of public record. These were taken while Benn was preparing to fight Chris Eubank Jr in a lucrative catchweight contest scheduled for 8 October 2022.
When news of one Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) test result was leaked on 5 October, the BBBoC prohibited the bout but Hearn initially attempted to proceed with the promotion. Even though Benn and Hearn had already been informed by Vada that an earlier test had also returned a positive result, they did not divulge this information while exploring ways of ensuring that the fight could still be held. After 36 hours of defiant talk from Hearn the intense controversy meant that he finally cancelled the bout on 6 October. Three weeks later, on 28 October, Benn conceded publicly that he had also tested positive for clomifene in the previously unreported first test.
Last week the WBC, a sanctioning body which cannot license fighters, said that its ruling would return Benn to its rankings. But the fighter responded on social media this week: “In my defence to the WBC, and the 270-page report provided to them, at no point did I indicate that I failed any Vada tests because of contaminated eggs … I feel like the WBC statement did a disservice to my defence which was based upon a comprehensive scientific review of the testing procedures, which set out a number of reasons why we believed the results were completely unreliable, and proved beyond any reasonable doubt that I am innocent.”
Robert Smith, the general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control, said “ultimately, the ball is in the court of Conor Benn’s lawyers” but he expressed his disappointment and surprise that neither his governing body nor Ukad had been allowed to see the 270-page report. “Until Ukad can consider the report then we haven’t moved very far,” Smith said. “And that is very, very disappointing.” When asked why Benn’s lawyers had not shared the report with the board and Ukad, Hearn said: “Because it has absolutely nothing to do with them at the moment.
“Conor is not licensed with the British Boxing Board of Control.” Yet Benn was a licensed BBBoC fighter when he tested positive for clomifene. “Yeah,” Hearn said, “and they never asked for any information from us at all other than very simple stuff.”
The BBBoC rejects this view and Smith said his board “works very closely with the commissions in Nevada, California, New Jersey, New York and elsewhere”, adding: “Obviously they’re aware of what’s going on with the Benn case. We don’t have any power to decide licences elsewhere but we can give any advice we have – which at this stage is very little because we haven’t received any documentation [from Benn’s representatives]. Ultimately these other commissions have to do their own investigations and it’s their decision [whether or not to license Benn].”
He stressed that even if the boxer succeeds in obtaining an international licence, the BBBoC would not allow him to fight in Britain as long as the Ukad investigation is incomplete. Smith, however, was hopeful that US commissions would also stand firm against Benn’s desire to return to the ring until he has cleared his name with credible evidence.
“The biggest problem with the sport,” Smith said, “is that there is no world governing body. We all look after ourselves, [which is] a great shame. However, the big organisations, and I would like to claim we are one of the big organisations, along with the state commissions in Nevada, California, New Jersey and New York, tend to do the same thing.”
Hearn insisted: “We could get Conor a licence today but I want to do it properly and make sure it’s a credible commission in America.” The promoter said Benn will meet the media next week but the boxer will face searching questions following his claim that there were procedural flaws in the testing carried out by a Vada-approved lab.
“Looking at Conor Benn’s statement and the report, there are a number of incidents or moments during this process that look to be procedurally flawed,” Hearn said. “But this is Conor Benn’s statement, not mine.”
The laboratory has an impeccable reputation, rooted in scientific expertise and professionalism. Approached by the Guardian, Vada’s CEO, Dr Margaret Goodman, declined to comment.
Smith reiterated that, in regard to Benn’s two positive tests, “the matter’s not finished”, adding: “He hasn’t been before an anti-doping agency of any form. He has been before a sanctioning body [the WBC] who don’t license anybody. They’ve said he’s back in their ratings but I’m not sure who he’s licensed with. You’d have to ask the WBC this question. Do they rate people who are not licensed? I don’t know but, as far as we’re concerned, the matter has not been resolved.”
