Conor Benn has not fought on home soil since the UK Anti-Doping Agency suspended him for testing positive for Clomifene. However, the National Anti-Doping Panel lifted the ban in July 2023, and he has fought twice in the USA since then.
Unfortunately for Benn, the UK National Anti-Doping Panel and the British Boxing Board of Control appealed the National Anti-Doping Panel. Benn’s ambitions to fight on his home soil are now in jeopardy.
Conor Benn ineligible to fight in UK following BBBofC and UKAD’s triumph
After the banned substance of Clomifene was found on his body, Conor Benn voluntarily relinquished his license with the British Boxing Board of Control. With the BBBofC and UKAD’s triumph in the appeal of the NADP ruling, his hopes are dashed again per Daily Mail.
Nonetheless, the promoter of Benn revealed that there is no suspension in place, and he is free to fight outside the UK. Benn’s previous two fights were in the USA on foreign boxing licenses. Even though BBBofC and UKAD won the appeal, Benn has the option to move the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Benn has always retained his innocence after the doping violation and claimed that the doping violations were accidental. Moreover, since he decided to relinquish his boxing license in Britain, he has been at war of words with the Board.
Benn claimed the initial NADP ruling as a vindication of his innocence but the present ruling has turned his hopes upside down. Eddie Hearn, the Matchroom promoter, also shared the same sentiment.
Is Conor Benn vs Chris Eubank Jr. bout still on?
Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. were scheduled to fight at the O2 Arena in London on October 8, 2022. However, Benn’s doping violation postponed the fight indefinitely. Even after news of the violation emerged, promoters of both Benn and Eubank initially released statements indicating that the fight would proceed before the postponement.
At the time, Eubank held the IBO middleweight championship and the WBA interim middleweight championship. Following the postponement, Eubank faced Liam Smith and lost via a 4th-round knockout. However, Eubank avenged the loss in a rematch, securing a 10th-round knockout victory.
Benn also fought twice since the postponement- a 10-round unanimous decision victory over Rodolfo Orozco and a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Peter Dobson. Moreover, he recently targeted a fight with Gervonta Davis with whom he engaged in a feud on X.
A bout between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr could potentially happen but chances are very low. Eubank has fought the majority of his career in the UK, particularly in England. In his 36-fight professional boxing career, he has fought only twice outside the UK- once in Saudi Arabia and once in Germany.
Do you think Conor Benn will ever fight in the UK? Leave your thoughts below!
