Eddie Hearn Discusses The Future Of Conor Benn’s Boxing Career

Eddie Hearn isn’t sure what is next for Conor Benn.

Benn was set to face Chris Eubank Jr. on October 8 but he failed a drug test and the fight was off. Then, it was announced by the British Board of Control that Benn had relinquished his boxing license prior to a hearing last week into misconduct allegations against him.

Benn currently has three fights left on his deal and Hearn thinks he needs to have a meeting with the BBBoC or UK Anti-Doping before he can fight again.

“I would only accept that if he has been through a hearing,” Hearn said. “I could have put [Benn-Eubank] on November 5 in Abu Dhabi, but that would have looked terrible. He has to go through a process to be cleared to fight. Contractually, if he is clear to fight, I can’t just come in and break the contract. It’s a good point. If Matchroom said we weren’t prepared to work with Conor Benn until he went through a hearing, I guess he could go and fight elsewhere.

“If he comes to us now and says ‘I’m fine to fight in Abu Dhabi, I’m fine to fight in Florida, or Texas, or Germany, or Australia’, all those jurisdictions would clear him like that,” Hearn continued. “So, at that point, we have to decide if we stage the fight or if we are not prepared to stage the fight. I’m telling you now, that I am not prepared to stage the fight until he has gone through some kind of hearing.”

When the failed drug test was flagged, there was some hope the fight could still go on. However, it didn’t and Eddie Hearn admits he was disappointed with how it was handled but still believes Benn is innocent.

“I believe he is innocent. But at the same time, you have to take responsibility, whether you are unlucky or not, that something has been found in your system,” Hearn said. “With what I know and believe, the purpose of the ban is more to suppress the public feeling and media around this situation.

“I don’t think the public will be happy if he can’t nail a specific contamination issue or whatever it is. The feeling will be ‘he has got off it’. At the same time, I don’t think he should face a lengthy ban. I don’t believe he has cheated, I don’t believe he has taken a performance-enhancing drug for the benefit of physical performance – that’s how I feel,” Hearn continued. “I don’t feel he should have his career ultimately punished. That is based on the scientific evidence but also my belief in him as a character. He’s a God-fearing man and he had it in him to say he had to be honest in this situation and find out what happened, rather than ‘yeah, this happened, give me three months’.”

When do you think we will see Conor Benn fight again?