Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn has been CANCELLED following the controversy surrounding Benn's failed drug test.
Benn and Eubank Jr were scheduled to settle their family feud in London on Saturday night, 30 years on from their fathers' legendary rematch which ended in a draw. But the £15million fight has now been called off after Benn returned a positive test for clomifene, a substance found that is used to treat infertility in women but can also boost testosterone production in men.
Benn's adverse finding came to light yesterday but both fighters were determined to fight this weekend, despite the British Boxing Board of Control insisting they would not sanction the fight. Promoter Eddie Hearn vowed to pursue every avenue to ensure the bout went ahead, but has now been forced to accept defeat after deciding against taking the matter to the High Court.
A statement read: "After discussions with various parties, we have taken the decision to formally postpone the bout between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn. It is undeniable that the British Boxing Board of Control's decision to withdraw their sanctioning was procedurally flawed and without due process. That remains a legal issue between the promoters and the Board which we intend to pursue.
"However, whilst there are legal routes to facilitate the fight taking place as planned, we do not believe that it is in the fighters' interests for those to be pursued at such a late stage, or in the wider interests of the sport. As promoters, we take our obligations and duties very seriously, and a full investigation will now need to take place. We will be making no further comment at this time and news for ticket holder refunds will follow."
Benn's failed test was carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) and took place in August, with Benn since returning a negative test. Matchroom Boxing's initial statement read: "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."
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Benn had passed all doping control tests conducted by the UK Anti-Doping, meaning he was not charged with any rule violation despite the VADA test failure. And the son-of-a-legend insisted he was innocent, saying: "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.
"My team will find out why there was an adverse finding in my test but as far as I'm concerned the fight is going ahead. I'm a clean athlete and we'll get to the bottom of this. [Chris] believes in me and it's not who I am or what I'm about; he was understanding and we both want the fight to go ahead."
Benn and Eubank Jr were due to meet at a catchweight of 157lb, three pounds lighter than the Eubank Jr has weighed during his professional career. Benn was moving up two weight classes for the grudge match and was a considerable underdog heading into the fight, which would have been the toughest test of his professional career.
