By Barry Holbrook: Gareth A. Davies says the right decision was made in the management choosing to cancel the Chris Eubank Jr vs. Conor Benn fight for Saturday night.
Davies states that they couldn’t have allowed Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) to go ahead with this fight after he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug ahead of his bout against Eubank Jr (32-2, 23 KOs).
What Davies wants to know is why hasn’t Conor Benn’s B-sample been tested.
“Absolutely, it’s the right decision. How can you allow a man who’s tested positive for a PED for a banned substance into a ring with another guy who in a massive fight that will just bring a huge stain on the sport in the sport of boxing,” said Gareth A Davies to Boxing Social about the Chris Eubank Jr vs. Conor Benn fight being postponed.
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) October 6, 2022
“You have to have clarity. There’s drug testing for a reason, and if you sign up for voluntary Anti-Doping Association if it comes up positive, why on earth should you be allowed to step into the ring?
“You signed up for the safety and the efficacy of the sport. So it’s absolutely the right decision. I can’t believe they didn’t call this off yesterday.
“They made the guys do the workouts. But they have been in the high court today, and it’s fascinating to see what they’ve been looking to do.
“It’s just top line wrong,” said Davies when asked what he would have thought if Eubank Jr vs. Benn had taken place under a different commission outside of the UK.
“They could not have gone ahead with it. Look at what it would have done to boxing. Look at what it would have done to our sport to have someone that has a banned substance in their body put a positive test out that they step into a ring with another boxer. It’s morally and ethically wrong. The right decisions have been made.
“What they’ve been trying to work out in the high court is if there’s a right for the Boxing Board of Control to stop someone from working when it wasn’t their test.
“There will be an inquiry now; the details will be gone over. Conor Benn, maybe they’ll get the B-sample out and will test the B-sample. Why hasn’t been tested already is one question that we’ll need to ask,” said Davies?
