Johnny Nelson has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Conor Benn’s adverse test restul and whether his hotly anticipated fight with Chris Eubank Jr should go ahead – and believes the final decision should rest with the British Boxing Board of Control.
Speaking to IFL TV, the Sky pundit was keen to emphasise his trust in the board to make the right decision and that their wishes ultimately should be respected.
“The fight will probably still go ahead – unfortunately there needs to be an inquiry into this as to why.”
“We just need to know the details, if the British Board of Control deem it safe to go ahead and there’s no issue then I’ll go with their decision.”
“The board are no fools and they won’t want to set a precedent. If they’re letting the fight go ahead then I trust the board when it comes to that kind of thing because if anything bad happened then they would be liable as well.”
“So all these things have got to be taken into account.”
The fight was plunged into huge jeopardy yesterday afternoon after a VADA test submitted by Benn returned an adverse finding for the banned substance Clomid – often used by athletes to combat the side effects of testosterone increasing drugs.
The board released a timely statement to say they would be prohibiting the bout from taking place, however Benn’s promoters Matchroom have said they will be lobbying for the fight to take place due to the fact Benn’s UKAD tests – the testing agency officially recognised by the BBoC – all returned negative.
Eubank Jr and his team have also expressed a desire for the contest to go ahead at the 02 on Saturday. There is speculation that, if the British Board refuse to sanction the fight, the organisers will look to an international board to for a license, as was case for David Haye vs Dereck Chisora back in 2012.