Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn has been called off after the news that Benn had failed a drugs test surfaced yesterday.
The 26 year-old returned an adverse result which found traces of banned substance, clomifene in the test carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA).
He hasn’t been suspended for the failed test, however the fight has been called off after the British Boxing Board of Control prohibited the fight taking place.
Eddie Hearn provided an update on Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn
Speaking after the news of the failed drugs test yesterday, Eddie Hearn admitted: “I think we have just seen the British Boxing Board of Control’s statement, and it’s pretty straightforward and it’s going backwards and forwards with the lawyers right now.
“Both guys signed up to a multitude of testing for this fight, the UK testing which is obviously the testing agent the British Boxing Board of Control go by and they were all negative, but there was the adverse finding on the VADA test previously.
“So, there’s not been an official doping violation, there’s a process that it has to go through, Conor Benn is not suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control, ultimately, he can’t be because he’s passed all the tests from UKAD, but clearly, the British Boxing Board of Control will take a position on it.
“We’ll deal with the lawyers, both camps have been made aware of course, previously, before the article came out about the situation and both camps are prepared to progress with the fight, but ultimately the conversations have to be had with the lawyers and teams and the British Boxing Board of Control.â€
He clearly still tried everything to make sure the fight went ahead, with both fighters keen to still settle the score, continuing the fierce rivalry started by their fathers in the ring all those years ago.
Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn: All the latest news and updates
Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn called off
However, just 24 hours on from that, the fight has been officially called off, despite the best efforts of all parties to get the fight on.
Ultimately, it seems like the correct decision in terms of boxing integrity, with the controversy, the result of the fight would be incredibly controversial and overshadow any proceedings.
It’s a major shame to see such an eagerly awaited fight not come to fruition due to a fighter failing a drugs test, but I guess that’s where we’re at, hopefully they can reschedule the fight for next year.