Conor Benn insists he is a “clean athlete” and believes Saturday’s fight with Chris Eubank Jr will still go ahead.
It was revealed on Wednesday that an “adverse analytical finding for trace amounts of a fertility drug” had shown up in one of Benn’s recent tests by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
The British Boxing Board of Control then said the scheduled bout at the O2 Arena was “prohibited” and “not in the interests of boxing”, but Benn feels it can go ahead given he has passed all his tests with the UK Anti-Doping Agency, which is in charge of doping control for the bout.
Benn, speaking at the Outernet venue in central London ahead of his open workout session, told Matchroom’s YouTube channel: “I have not committed any violation, I have not been suspended so as far as I am concerned the fight is still going ahead.
“I have spoken to Chris personally and we both want the fight to go ahead. We have both taken medical and legal advice and we want the fight to happen for the fans.
“I have signed up to every voluntary anti-doping testing there is under the sun. Throughout my whole career I am tested and my UKAD tests have come back negative so I have never had any issues before.
“Even in the lead-up to this fight, my (UKAD) tests have come up negative so my team will find out as to why there has been an initial adverse finding in my test, but as I said as far as I am concerned the fight is going ahead.
“I am a clean athlete and we will get to the bottom of this.”
Promoters Matchroom and Wasserman Boxing and the two fighters have known about the drug test result for a number of weeks, the PA news agency understands.
The bout would be the third between the families after the dads of the duo fought in the 1990s.
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