Conor Benn’s provisional suspension has been lifted after a two-year battle with UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) and the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC).
Benn, 28, is an undefeated welterweight with a 23-0 record, but in 2022 he tested positive twice for a banned substance, the female fertility drug Clomiphene, in drug tests volunteers.
His suspension was lifted after Ukad said the National Anti-Doping Committee (NADP) was “not comfortably satisfied” that he and the Board had proven he had committed an anti-doping rule violation.
Benn says he has been “cleared of any wrongdoing” and has always been “an advocate for clean sports.”
“These last 24 months have without a doubt been the hardest fight of my life,” Benn wrote in a statement published on X.
“(It’s been a rollercoaster period where the WBC had already decided that I was innocent and the NADP decided at first instance that there was no case to answer and I was free to fight.”
Ukad says “the charges against him have therefore been dismissed”, but that they are reviewing the decision “in accordance with the rights of appeal”.
They have 21 days to appeal.
BBC Sport has contacted the BBBofC for comment.
Ukad added that it was “impossible to publicly disclose” the NADP’s full decision at this time without Benn’s consent.
A key issue at the heart of Benn’s case was that the drug tests were carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) and funded by Benn’s promoters, Matchroom Boxing, not Ukad.
When will Benn box again?
Benn is now free to resume his fighting career in the UK and plans to reschedule a fight with Chris Eubank Jr.
Both teams of fighters are pushing for the fight to take place in the UK rather than Saudi Arabia.
Eubank and Benn clashed in the Kingdom last month, in the week before Artur Beterbiev’s victory over Dmitry Bivol. Benn then joined his rival in the ring after Eubank stopped Kamil Szeremeta.
Eddie Hearn, who promotes Benn, said he expects the fight to take place in early 2025.
“It’s the easiest fight in the world to promote,” he said.
“The first time we sold the tallest door ever at the O2 for boxing. It sold out so quickly I can’t even tell you. Now with everything it’s three or four times bigger,” he said.
“I think you will see him in February or March 2025. He may land in Riyadh but AJ-Dubois (Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois) has been epic for British boxing and this will be too.
“It’s always nice to have at least one stadium fight a year. Doing that in the first quarter would be encouraging for what might follow.”
What is the timeline for Benn’s anti-doping case?
Benn was initially suspended from boxing in March 2023 after failing two voluntary clomiphene tests before his canceled fight with fellow Briton Chris Eubank Jr.
The two were scheduled to meet on October 8, 2022 at 157 pounds, approximately 30 years after their fathers Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr. fought. Eubank Sr won the first fight in 1990, while the 1993 rematch was declared void.
Clomiphene can be used to increase testosterone levels in men and is banned in and out of competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
BBBofC general secretary Robert Smith said Benn was provisionally banned from participating in any capacity in any competition organized, convened, authorized or recognized by his organization.
Benn always insisted he was innocent intentional doping. He blamed the findings on “contamination.” His defense pointed out that there was a problem with the Vada testing laboratory.
An independent WBC report from February 2023 said his failed drug test was unintentional and could have been caused by “very high consumption” of eggs, but Benn was still subject to investigation. an investigation by UKAD and BBBofC.
The NADP lifted the suspension last July and Benn believed he was free to fight again in the UK.
However, appeals by Ukad and the BBBofC against the decision were upheld in May.
Speaking to BBC Sport in October, promoter Hearn said Benn had been “penalized by his resistance to accepting his guilt” and that his fighter would fight in the UK sooner if he had accepted a ban he had been given. imposed following failure of the test.
“For me to know and believe that he’s innocent, to see what he’s had to go through over the last two years is pretty brutal,” Hearn said.
“Unfortunately, because of the way the process unfolded, he angered the authorities and he didn’t play the game.
“They would have liked to put the situation in order quickly but he wanted to appeal, explore and provide his reasoning and evidence.”
Benn has fought twice in the United States, most recently in February being a unanimous points victory over Peter Dobson in a welterweight contest in Las Vegas.
Had he accepted his guilt and a subsequent ban in the UK, it is unlikely that US sporting commissions – which tend to side with sanctions imposed on fighters by their international counterparts – would have allowed Benn to compete in the country.
