The fighter who is in a battle to clear his name has responded to the British Boxing Board of Control’s statement declaring that he has relinquished his license.
Conor Benn, who according to his promoter has been gathering evidence to prove that he was not abusing performance enhancing drugs, has responded to the BBBofC’s announcement that they have upheld allegations of misconduct against him – namely acting in a way that is ‘detrimental to the interests of boxing.’
Via his social media accounts, the young welterweight’s team released the following statement on his behalf:
“Conor’s focus at this time is solely on clearing his name.
The Board, however, has made it extremely difficult for Conor to focus on doing that by its conduct of an unfair and biased procedure. In such circumstances, Conor decided not to renew his licence (which had lapsed). Conor told the Board that if it did not accept that his licence had lapsed, then he renounces it.
He strongly refutes the allegation of misconduct (which for the avoidance of doubt is *not* in relation to the VADA issue) and firmly believes that an independent tribunal will reach a wholly different conclusion.
At the appropriate time Conor will speak out on this and on the doping allegation, to the extent that he can whilst legal proceedings are ongoing. In the meantime he reiterates, in no uncertain terms, that he is a clean athlete.”
Benn’s fight with Eubank Jr had exploded in terms of hype and excitement before it was postponed, even reaching a mainstream audience because of the historic family rivalry started by their fathers in the early nineties.
A Daily Mail story revealing that Benn had been found to have a banned substance in his system sent shockwaves throughout the boxing world, and the fight was prohibited by the board. Ever since, Benn and his team have maintained that he is a ‘clean athlete’ and would clear his name – something that has not been made easy by intermittent announcements from the Board.
Still, his promoter assures us that there will be a statement made to the media soon, even suggesting that some form of contamination may be to blame. More is expected this week.