Johnny Nelson has advised Conor Benn to ‘take his ban’ and then continue to box in Britain.
Benn has been out of the ring since April of last year. He almost made it in against Chris Eubank Jr in October until news of a failed doping test threw his career into limbo.
Whilst he has remained adamant that he is a clean athlete – even despite another prior failed test surfacing – the British Boxing Board of Control has been staunch in its refusal to move on without a proper investigation.
Things in that regard have progressed recently, with The UK Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspending the fighter for an upcoming hearing. Benn is said to be cooperating with the case – something he was against beforehand.
BBBofC General Secretary, Robert Smith, told Boxing Social that he hopes Benn will fight again in Britain pending the verdict, and stressed the importance of procedure being followed.
Nelson – a former world cruiserweight champion turned pundit – agrees. Speaking to Boxing UK, he said that Benn has to take a ban to put the situation to bed.
“He’s got to take his ban. Conor’s saying ‘believe me not your lying eyes’ – take the ban, box on. It’s not a witch hunt, because it’s great for British boxing. He’s got to take his licks.”
Benn has recently expressed a desire to fight in his home country, taking back previous statements made in anger that he would fight overseas for the foreseeable.
His change of heart comes as he awaits the UKAD conclusion having provided a much-discussed 270 page document to aid their investigation.
Talk of an overseas bout in the interim have slowed down in recent weeks.