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Eddie Hearn wants the public to give Conor Benn the benefit of the doubt.
The head of Matchroom Boxing has been insisting adamantly that his embattled welterweight charge should be given a fair trial before any judgement is made about Benn’s moral compass.
Last month, it was revealed, three days out from his scheduled 157-pound catchweight fight with Chris Eubank Jr., that Benn had failed a VADA-administered drug test. The drug in question was clomifene, a fertility drug that is known to boost testosterone levels in men and be used as a masking agent. The revelation cast a dark cloud over the sport and led to the cancellation of the Eubank-Benn fight.
The British Boxing Board of Control, in tandem with UK Anti-Doping, launched an investigation into Benn’s positive drug test. Public opprobrium has been swift, with few expressing sympathy for Benn, who was being primed by his promoter as one of the next stars of the British boxing scene.
It has not looked good for Benn in recent days. The welterweight relinquished his license with the BBBofC, a sign to some that it is an admission of guilt. Benn also admitted that he had tested positive for clomifene on a separate occasion, back in July, two months before the positive test that led to the cancellation of the Eubank fight.
Hearn, however, pointed out recently that Benn has been nothing less than completely forthcoming as it relates to his drug scandal, and that this should not be overlooked.
“I’ll tell you one thing about this situation,” Hearn told BBC 5 Live Boxing. “Conor Benn had the opportunity to lie. Right? They sat down, and people said to him, ‘Ultimately, you’ve got to build a case here. So is your wife on any fertility treatment?’ [Benn said] ’No, she’s not.’ I’m sure people said to him, ‘Say she is.’ His exact words to me, ‘I don’t want to lie.’
“This is a man of faith and of God, not that that should matter in a court of law. But what I’m saying is this he didn’t want to make up an excuse. He wants to be honest with people. He wants to go through the process. He didn’t take his wife’s fertility drug. All of those excuses could’ve been laid out. He wants to be honest and go through the process. Give him a chance to be heard.”
Hearn said he has been somewhat dismayed by his countrymen’s visceral reaction toward Benn. At the same time, Hearn says he understands that such a response is only natural given the gravity of the situation.
“Sometimes the country don’t really amaze me,” Hearn said. “They like to bring down the successful, if you like, and chew ‘em down from the hip. But at the same time, I will say this, ultimately when you do fail a test, it’s in your system, somehow, someway. So in that respect, whatever way you want to look at it, you are guilty.
“Now you can be unlucky, it can not be your fault, you could’ve not intentionally ingested it, in which case this is a horrific situation for Conor Benn. But all I’m saying is maybe, just maybe it is [a case where Benn is innocent. Ultimately let’s hear that out in public.”