A request from Conor Benn’s promotional team for him to be put in the WBC rankings has been denied.
Benn was recently found to have failed two drug tests from Clomiphene – a female fertility drug that finds itself on the banned substance list due to its ability to increase testosterone in men. The news shook the boxing world and saw Benn’s fight with Chris Eubank Jr pulled at the last minute. He, along with his team, have remained adamant that he’s a clean fighter.
The request came at the WBC’s 60th Annual Convention where rankings are decided, fights ordered, and rules discussed. Matchroom, who represent Benn, put forward that since Benn wasn’t officially banned, he should be ranked. The WBC disagreed, saying that until such time as the doping matter was settled he would remain out of the rankings.
WBC President, Mauricio Sulaiman, spoke on the situation with ES News.
“We have the clean boxing programme protocol. We have [been] in communication with Conor Benn and his legal team, basically this is an issue that is going to be addressed. We have been in communication through the full investigation on the matter and tried to clean his name with this situation, but we have to do the [protocol].”
Benn had been briefly removed from the rankings in January of this year following the WBC made ‘multiple attempts to enroll’ him after his grace period for registration. The fighter branded it a mistake and said he had instructed his team to fix the issue. The WBC’s programme is in association with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association – the drug testing agency with which Conor Benn has admitted to failing two tests.
It’s another blow for the young welterweight as his career remains on the ropes. The last we heard from him or his team was that more information that would aim to clear his name was pending, with a case of contamination being the expected explanation for the failed tests.