WBC President, Mauricio Sulaiman, has provided an update on the organisation’s investigation into Conor Benn and his failed doping tests.
The boxing world was shocked when news broke of the young, undefeated welterweight testing positive for a banned substance in the lead up to his fight with Chris Eubank Jr.
The event was pulled and, ever since, Benn has found himself attempting to clear his name in the eyes of the powers that be and, perhaps just as importantly, his fans.
After submitting 270 pages of evidence to the WBC in the hope of being returned to their rankings and reignite a world title bid, Benn grew tired of waiting for a response.
On December 29, he publicly requested an explanation and the conclusion of their investigation. Sulaiman, however, told ThaBoxingVoice that there had been no delay on their side – in fact, quite the opposite.
“We received a document from his team which [was] 270 pages. Within that document there are many matters that need further investigation and action. This is nothing that can be simple resolved by sympathy or by saying X, Y or Z. You have to go into the facts, because there are legal implications as well. We have to take all the time necessary.
And, to give you an example, we received that document, we sent back a letter to they lawyers, and it took three weeks for them to respond. So it is not that we have stalled the case. We are actively working on it and we are just following the protocol.”
Sulaiman pointed out that Benn is currently free to compete, however the fighter has made it clear that he wants to clear his name before doing so.
Further to that, it’s thought that he is currently unable to regain a British boxing license until a separate investigation by the Board of Control is completed.
Despite there being no time frame on either case, Benn is adamant that he will fight for a world title in 2023.