Benn and Eubank Jr WILL meet at press conference with fight still on

Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr WILL meet at today’s press conference with insiders adamant Saturday night’s big fight is STILL ON… even as the BBBC refuse to sanction the bout

  • British rivals Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr are still set to fight this weekend  
  • The pair will come face-to-face at Thursday afternoon’s press conference 
  • That’s despite Benn failing a VADA drugs test in the build-up to the bout 
  • It’s also despite the British Boxing Board of Control prohibiting the fight from taking place 

Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr will come together at today’s press conference with both parties still planning to fight this weekend. 

Sources have told Sportsmail that, despite the British Boxing Board of Control prohibiting the bout from taking place, the fight is still very much on at this stage. 

Sportsmail broke the news on Wednesday morning that Benn had failed a VADA drugs test, testing positive for banned substance clomifene, designed primarily to aid women in fertility, but also known to provide steroid boosts for muscle development and rapid recovery from training among other benefits.

Conor Benn (right) and Chris Eubank Jr (left) will on Thursday with their press conference still going ahead

Benn has tested positive for banned substance clomifene in the build-up to the mega-fight

Clomifene is a powerful female fertility medicine which doubles as a performance enhancer.

It stimulates egg production in women, giving those struggling to conceive the best chance of getting pregnant.

Yet, studies suggest that when given to men as a daily pill, clomiphene triggers the production of testosterone.

Testosterone has a key role in tissue healing, carrying oxygen and nutrients to the injury site, aiding repair.

However, it also makes it easier to put on muscle and offers a physical boost, hence why it is a banned substance in the world of athletics.

Promoters Eddie Hearn and Kalle Sauerland are yet to formally cancel the fight, however, with the former insisting the matter is being discussed among lawyers for both parties. 

Both Benn and Eubank Jr – who appeared at Wednesday’s public workout following the bombshell revelation – still want the fight to take place.   

And they will be in the public eye once more on Thursday afternoon, with their press conference – set to take place at 1pm – still going ahead as planned. 

The decision to continue with the fight, at this stage, has been met by mass scrutiny, particularly as Sportsmail understands a notification was made to all parties regarding the adverse finding as far back as September 23. 

Crucially, while Benn has protested his innocence, Hearn has insisted that, at this stage, ‘there’s no reason, in terms of suspension, or violations, the fight should not take place’. 

That’s because, while Benn has failed a VADA test – the A sample thus far – the British Boxing Board of Control is governed by the UK Anti-Doping Agency, who are typically contracted by the boxers and promoters for a five-figure fee prior to a fight.

The 26-year-old, according to Hearn, has passed all doping control tests by UKAD – including one taken after the adverse finding. 

Benn, speaking at Wednesday’s public workout, said: ‘I wanted to say this personally. You guys have read what the Daily Mail published about me today and I want you guys to hear it personally from me rather than read it in a statement from me and my team.

Benn has insisted he has not committed any violations and therefore says the fight should go ahead

‘The Destroyer’ was speaking at Wednesday’s public workout, which still went ahead despite the circumstances

Sportsmail’s Riath Al-Samarrai broke the exclusive of Benn’s positive drugs test this morning

‘I’ve not committed any violations, I’ve not been suspended so as far as I’m concerned the fight’s still going ahead.

‘I’ve spoken to Chris personally and we both want the fight to go ahead. We’ve both taken medical and legal advice and we both want the fight to happen for the fans.’

The fight, as well as being a legacy bout, also carries a huge financial incentive, with tens of millions of pounds to be lost should the fight fail to go ahead. Both Eubank Jr and Benn were on six-figure purses.

Now also on the line, though, is Benn’s reputation, which ‘The Destroyer’ maintains should remain intact.

He continued: ‘I’ve signed up to every voluntary anti-doping testing there is under the sun, throughout my whole career all my UK tests have come back negative. I’ve never had any issues before. Even in the lead-up to this fight my tests have come back negative.

‘So my team will find out why there’s been an initial adverse finding in my test but as far as I’m concerned, the fight’s still going ahead. I’m a clean athlete and we’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll see you all on Saturday.’




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