Eddie Hearn says the British Boxing Board of Control leaked the results of Conor Benn’s failed drug test to the press before giving him a chance to clear his name.
Benn’s highly anticipated fight with Chris Eubank Jr was postponed after the former tested positive for trace amounts of clomiphene, a fertility drug, which raises testosterone levels.
Hearn says the British Boxing Board of Control ‘looked at the results’ and ‘leaked them to the press’ before giving Benn a chance to have an ‘audience’ and clear his name like Dillian Whyte did in 2019.
It was Sportsmail that broke the news that Benn had failed a drug test after traces of clomiphene were found in his system prior to his fight with Eubank Jr.
Hearn says people have “assumed Benn is guilty without any kind of hearing” and blamed the British Boxing Board of Control.
Hearn said they experienced a similar situation with Whyte in the build-up to his points win against Oscar Rivas in 2019. However, Hearn praised UKAD for how it handled the situation.
He said UKAD carried out a confidential investigation into Whyte’s results and gave the Body Snatcher a chance to clear his name at a hearing.
Hearn claims that the British Boxing Board of Control denied Benn the same opportunity by leaking his results to the press.
Eddie Hearn has blamed the British Boxing Board of Control for leaking Conor Benn results
Benn (R) failed a drug test in preparation for the canceled clash against Chris Eubank Jr (L)
speaking to TalkSPORTHearn said: ‘First of all, nothing was kept quiet. This is a really important fact. People feel like this was brushed under the rug.
“But, the British boxing board of control, which is our governing body and the regulators, who decide whether or not a fight will take place, they knew all the information at all points.
Conor Benn will publish all the information about the test in due course. It is very important for us. We are facing a decision a couple of weeks before the fight to receive this information from the AMA.
‘Understand also, the British boxing board of control has its own regulatory testing board, which is UKAD. We pay for extra testing to keep the sport as safe as possible, which is WADA.
Benn tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene in the build-up to the mega fight
The AMA is not recognized by the British Boxing Board of Control. One of the problems around this is that the AMA is a reporting agency. Then WADA will inform the athletes.
That was at the request of Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn. They said that they would like additional evidence for this fight.
“When we got the information, that went back to Matchroom, to Conor Benn, to Wasserman (who is Chris Eubank Jr’s promoter), to Chris Eubnak Jr and to the British Boxing Board of Control.
‘So everyone knew about the results at the same time. From there, we had to make a decision. We spoke to Kalle Sauerland, Chris Eubank, Conor Benn and the British Boxing Board of Control.
‘We said, look, we have a situation here. From that moment on, medical and specialist advice was taken based on these results.
Hearn says they found out about Benn’s test results at the same time as Eubank Jr (pictured)
Kalle Sauerland and Wasserman did their own research on that information, and at that point, Chris Eubank Jr had the right to finish the fight.
“However, it is ultimately up to the British Boxing Board of Control to sanction the fight. Chris Eubank and Wasserman came back and said, based on the information we’ve received about the test, we’re happy to continue the fight.
“We had a similar situation with Dillian Whyte. He had a hearing before his fight. UKAD cleared him to fight. He had a hearing and was acquitted.
‘Conor Benn never got a chance to have an audience before the fight. They just sat on it and leaked it to the press and went from there.
Sportsmail has contacted the British Boxing Board of Control for comment.
Hearn has said Benn will release a statement confirming the ‘facts’ within the next 48 hours.
Hearn went on to say that Benn would release a statement revealing all the ‘facts’ within the next ’48 hours’.
He said: ‘Conor Benn has an ongoing legal case and we can’t say too much as there is a bias for that. But I would say that in the next 48 hours you will see a full statement from Conor Benn on that legal case with his confirmation of all the facts.
“From our point of view, I have no problem talking about that and the process that unfolded, leading up to the eventual decision by the British Boxing Board of Control.
Conor Benn is immediately presumed guilty without any kind of hearing because that’s usually how this kind of situation works.
“Sometimes that’s fair, but Benn has a big fight on his hands to try and save his career.”