Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr had a private conversation after the former returned an adverse finding in a drug test before their fight this weekend.
The third instalment in the Benn and Eubank rivalry sees welterweight Conor take on middleweight Chris Jr decades after the pair's fathers Nigel and Chris Sr fought twice in the 90s. There is no love lost between the two families and both men have overcome significant obstacles in order to make the fight including a seemingly insurmountable size difference.
Benn's drug test was part of VADA testing, and in the time since it was taken he has been tested again and returned negative results, while the B sample has also not yet been examined. And both men have agreed to still fight after a secret meeting held with neither of their promoters of representatives present.
Kalle Sauerland, Eubank Jr's promoter and the head of Wasserman Boxing, appeared on talkSPORT this afternoon after news broke of the test result. And he explained how both fighters came to the conclusion that they should still compete after their private talks.
“We spoke to Benn directly," Sauerland told hosts Jim White and Simon Jordan. "There was a direct discussion between the two, but I’m not privileged to that discussion, I wasn’t part of that discussion. We have to focus on the show on Saturday and we can’t be distracted by anything.
“The summary of what we’ve received is that there was this trace finding, but the key for me here is the UKAD findings and the medical advice, which is probably the most important thing here, because we’re talking about a physical combat sport, so that for me is the be all and end all.
"The first thing you think when you hear ‘positive doping test’ is that the fight’s off, then you have to look into what it is… It’s very clear there’s been a big mistake here from the other side, but ultimately has it been done as a PED? No. That’s what the medical opinions are. The fight on Saturday is on.”
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The issue was with a positive test for trace amounts of the drug clomifene; a female fertility drug that is known to increase testosterone in men. But Sauerland has been assured that there is no way such an amount could provide an athletic advantage and as such has agreed to go on with the fight.
“There has been a trace finding of a female fertility drug in a voluntary testing scheme," Sauerland continued. "Which is in addition to the UKAD testing scheme, the British Boxing Board of Control’s testing scheme. At the end of August, beginning of September, there was a test taken by Benn in which there was this female fertility drug.
"That was then relayed to us when those tests came back. The British board follows UKAD and all those tests were presented to us as negative and that’s the position from a licensing point of view that we have received. It’s a non-PED, but at the same time it can raise the testosterone levels, but the experts we consulted couldn’t see that it was giving an advantage.
"So, on the basis of that, we discussed with the most important person on our side and that’s the athlete and he was happy to continue."
