Frank Warren has given his opinion on the Conor Benn doping drama after the fighter released a statement claiming his team had proven his innocence.
The statement came after weeks of silence following the news of two failed drug tests. Benn’s career in the sport was thrown into doubt and his immediate future – a fight with Chris Eubank Jr – was postponed.
This week, the young welterweight released a positive statement once again insisting that he is and always has been a clean fighter. He closed it off by saying 2023 would be the year he would become a world champion, apparently confident that a ban – or at least a lengthy one – isn’t coming his way.
Catching up with TalkSPORT, promoter Warren said the only way the truth can come out is if the UK Anti Doping Agency announce they have tested Benn’s samples and make the results public.
He believes that the situation has been messy and misleading throughout.
“I think there’s a lot of information that keeps coming out and I think there’s been a lot of smoke screens. I think there’s been a lot of c**p gone on. The day of the fight, or the day before the fight when this all come out, they were going to sue the governing body for not letting him fight then they made the right decision.
Every day you hear a different story. The only way this comes out is that there has to be transparency in drug testing in boxing – and in that way you’re going to find out what’s true and what’s not.”
The hall of fame promoter went on to suggest that the British Board of Control should respect and handle all samples regardless of the testing agency.
Benn’s second failed test fell into a grey area since it was conducted by the Voluntary Anti Doping Agency – an organisation that the British Boxing Board of Control doesn’t use for their testing programme.
“The board of control can deal with that. All they need to do is one thing, and that’s put it into their regulations that any boxer who tests positive with any bonafide drug organisation has to then give that sample to UKAD, and then UKAD call a hearing.
If you want to be licensed, then that’s the only way you’re going to get licensed by the board of control.”
Following Benn’s statement of proven innocence, results of the investigations against him are expected imminently.