Conor Benn has been cleared by the WBC for his failed drugs tests ahead of the cancelled grudge match with Chris Eubank Jr last October. Benn returned adverse findings for clomifene in two samples given to VADA ahead of the bout but according to the major sanctioning body there is “no conclusive evidence” he intentionally or knowingly ingested the banned substance.
The WBC’s enquiries were solely for the purpose of determining whether the fighter can regain his No 5 spot in their welterweight rankings. He still awaits the verdict of a more important separate investigation carried out by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBofC) and the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) which will decide whether Benn will receive a ban from boxing.
Benn has maintained his innocence throughout and claims that his failed tests were down to the ‘highly-elevated consumption of eggs’, a verdict the WBC has sided with. A statement from the body read: “Mr Benn’s documented and highly-elevated consumption of eggs during the times relevant to the sample collection. This raised a reasonable explanation for the Adverse Finding.”
“The WBC Nutrition Committee will work with Mr Benn’s team to design a nutrition program to avoid the risk of a future adverse finding caused by nutritional factors,” the press releases added. “Mr Benn shall be subjected to regular anti-doping testing to monitor the effect of the WBC-ordered nutritional program.
The WBC also cleared Benn on the basis that there was “no conclusive evidence that Mr Benn engaged in intentional or knowing ingestion of Clomiphene”.
But it states that “there were no failures in the procedures related to sample collection, sample analysis, or violations of Mr Benn’s B Sample rights that would justify questioning or invalidating the Adverse Finding”.