Eddie Hearn shares regret over Benn vs Eubank Jr fight as he gives return update
Eddie Hearn has issued a bold defence over his handing of Conor Benn's failed drugs tests – but conceded one regret over the saga that has gripped boxing.
Benn's highly-anticipated bout with rival Chris Eubank Jr was prohibited by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) last year after he twice tested positive for banned substance clomiphene in VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) testing.
Matchroom kingpin Hearn has been slammed by Simon Jordan over the way he dealt with the shock news, as he claimed he was 'considering options' for Benn amid vociferous calls to immediately pull the bout.
And Hearn clashed with Jordan in an explosive talkSPORT show centred around the Benn saga as the riled up duo settled their fierce war-of-words in person on Tuesday.
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Former Crystal Palace owner Jordan labelled Hearn a "coward", insisting he could have instantly stopped the fight from taking place. But Hearn snapped back, saying: "This where you fail to understand. Under the contract, the board (BBBoC) govern the sport.
“Contractually, regardless of what Simon wants to say, he acknowledges this and I’m happy to debate it further. In the fight contract with Chris Eubank Jr, the only way that fight gets cancelled is if the British Boxing Board of Control do not sanction it or Chris Eubank Jr terminates the agreement due to the testing."
Hearn, however, admits that he should have clarified that there was no chance the bout could take place as he explained his one regret over the situation.
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"The big mistake that I made was that when I rocked up to the workout on Wednesday, I had literally received the letter from the British Boxing Board of Control an hour before," he said.
“I faced the media, and myself and Kalle Sauerland couldn’t believe this process had been going on for five weeks and all of a sudden, ‘What are we going to do?’ I shouldn’t have said, ‘We are looking at our options.’ I should’ve just taken it and I believe the board made the right (call). I had the option – and so did Kalle (Sauerland) – to proceed with the fight.
“I do regret considering our options. I do, because I think the board made the right decision. I was a bit shell-shocked. All of a sudden, I had 100 cameras asking me, ‘What are you going to do?’
“And what I said was, ‘Look, the British Boxing Board of Control told us they don’t acknowledge VADA, they only acknowledge UKAD (UK Anti-Doping). He’s had four UKAD tests in the run-up to this fight, every one of them was negative and we need to consider our position – that was the mistake.”
Benn has now been reinstated back into the WBC rankings after an investigation into his failed drugs tests determined that ‘there was no conclusive evidence that he had engaged in intentional or knowing ingestion of Clomiphene.’
But while Hearn is targeting a summer return date for his fighter and is still open to making the Eubank Jr fight, the 26-year-old will not be able to compete in Britain until he is fully cleared by the BBBoC and UK Anti-Doping.
"I will look at fights for Conor Benn and I will make a decision on where that fight will take place," Hearn said. "I will also actively speak to Conor and the British Boxing Board of Control about going through the process to ensure he gets a fair hearing and he tries to be able to box in this country.
“I do not want Conor Benn to fight around the world. This kid has got a good heart. I want to make the Chris Eubank Jr fight.” He added: "I believe Conor Benn. It would have been easy for me to cast him aside, but I 100% believe him. He will fight in June."
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