Conor Benn took part in a public workout ahead of his Chris Eubank Jr which is supposed to take place this Saturday but is now on the verge of collapse.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that Benn had returned an abnormal result for clomiphene after being tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association in August, but has since taken a test from the UK Anti-Doping Agency.
After promoters Kalle Sauerland and Eddie Hearn both publicly stated that the fight would go ahead as planned, the British Boxing Board of Control released a statement about it.
“The evening of the 4e October 2022, the board of directors of the British Boxing Board of Control Limited decided that the contest between Chris Eubank Jnr. and Conor Benn scheduled for the 8e October 2022 is prohibited and not in the interests of boxing.
“This was communicated to the boxers and promoters involved on the morning of the 5e October 2022.”
Hearn acknowledged the BBBofC’s message but insisted he remained hopeful the fight would continue and explained the matter was now being handled by lawyers.
But Benn was defiant, insisting he is a clean athlete and insisted his highly anticipated bout with Eubank Jr will go ahead.
“I have not committed any offence,” he told YouTube channel Matchroom. “I was not suspended. So, as far as I’m concerned, the fight continues.
“I’ve spoken to Chris personally and we both want the fight to go ahead. We’ve both taken medical and legal advice and we want the fight to happen for the fans.
“I signed up for every voluntary doping control that exists under the sun. All my UKAD tests have come back negative throughout my career.
“I’ve never had any problems before, even before this fight my tests came back negative. This way, my team will find out why there was a first abnormal result in my test.
“As far as I’m concerned, the fight continues and I’m a clean athlete and we’ll get to the bottom of it.”