The longest reigning Cruiserweight Champion in history, Johnny Nelson, believes that any talk other than why Conor Benn had a banned substance in his system is distracting from the real issue.
Nelson’s thoughts come as promoter Eddie Hearn is in a back-and-froth – although perhaps skewed to one side – with TalkSPORT’s Simon Jordan, and the British Boxing Board of Control are coming under pressure for comment.
The fighter turned Sky Sports pundit told IFL TV that, despite many things needing addressed eventually, the here and now should be consumed by the fighter explaining why he tested positive for a banned substance.
“I love Simon Jordan. I think he’s got massive cojones when he’s going to say what he thinks and he doesn’t mind being threatened to be sued. But, again, let’s not deviate off the path – it’s not Eddie [Hearn] that this substance was found in, it was Conor [Benn.] Conor and his team have to deal with this. It sounds like I’m defending Eddie, I’m not. It’s not about Eddie.
The effects of what Conor has done, let’s talk about that later. But let’s deal with the situation. Eddie’s coming for a lot of fire. The British Boxing Board are coming for a lot of fire. The fact is, a substance was found in Conor Benn. Conor Benn has to prove why it was there.
So when we start distracting, and talking about the board, talking about Eddie, talking about Simon Jordan, again it’s not actually addressing the issue … So, I’m not defending Eddie, what I’m saying is Eddie’s not the guilty party here. Forget Eddie, forget Simon, forget the boxing board of control – when Conor’s addressed it and dealt with this correctly, then deal with the aftermath.”
Benn’s career has been on the ropes ever since it was revealed by the Daily Mail that he had tested positive for Clomiphene in the lead up to his fight with Chris Eubank Jr. The historic event was postponed – now widely presumed to be cancelled – and the young welterweight has been working with scientists and lawyers ever since in an attempt to clear his name.
Despite his efforts behind the scenes, things went from bad to worse for Benn last week as his first in-depth interviews on the subject confirmed a second test had been failed. The boxing world – including Johnny Nelson – still awaits further evidence.