Eubank Jr vs Benn: A Message in a Bottle

Eubank Jr vs Benn: A Message in a Bottle

The hope was that when the much-anticipated Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn fight was finally postponed it would be down to a belated acceptance that it was the right thing to do. But it looks far more likely that it was down to running out of options. And time. And Matchroom in an official statement, said there are legal avenues they intend to pursue against the British Boxing Board of Control. Sometimes you just have to read the room. But you have to be in that room. Too many people this week have been anywhere but.

In a sport where there are debates and arguments over the obvious, there has been widespread agreement that the fight should be called off. In that, we can take some grain of comfort from another saga that leaves a dark cloud hanging over the sport.

The worrying thing is, even now, it would appear some people still have an entirely different view. Everything around the last few days has been disappointing and much more. Thoughts of rescheduling the fight shouldn’t even be considered until we all have the answers we need.

The second the failed drug test was known and the realisation that the crucial B-sample result wouldn’t be known before the fight, it should have been cancelled right there and then. It would certainly have helped the undercard fighters. Leaving it while the last minute is a total failure and a lack of empathy for them. There is no reasonable argument to suggest that the fight should have gone on. Attempts to sidetrack and ignore that failed drugs test are ones of shame, and a total disregard for the safety and integrity of the sport. Any previous or subsequent clean tests are irrelevant. The only test that matters is the failed one. No amount of smoke and mirrors can hide that. Or change it.

A failed test is a failed test regardless of who administered that test. You can’t ask for and pay for VADA testing and then ignore the results because it is convenient to do so. Benn at the very least has a case to answer. He now has to prove his innocence.

We shouldn’t presume Conor Benn is guilty, but equally, we shouldn’t presume he isn’t. Benn deserves to have the right to defend himself, and due process should be followed. But his innocence is up in the air, and as of now, in the eyes of many, he is a suspected drug cheat. How can anyone seriously think that it was the right call to keep the fight on?

I have every sympathy with Eubank and every single undercard fighter who now have no fight and no pay. I even have sympathy with Benn, if as he claims he is totally innocent. But there is at this moment in time, doubt and suspicion. If the fight had taken place it would have been a deeply uncomfortable watch, in many ways. It had more than a ring of danger about it. As bad as it undoubtedly is, it could have turned out an awful lot worse. We can be thankful for that at least.

The British Boxing Board of Control quite rightly wouldn’t sanction it. But if as reported they knew about the alleged failed drug test for a number of weeks, why did it take so long to make that announcement? The right decision undoubtedly, but why did it take so long to come?

The British paying public only knew of the adverse findings when the Daily Mail broke the story on Wednesday morning, even though all parties reportedly knew of the adverse findings on September 23rd. How can anyone not find that unsettling? We have a right to know what we are paying for. If the said newspaper hadn’t leaked the story, none of us would have been any the wiser, and the fight would have gone on under an extremely dark cloud of much secrecy. That is a seriously horrible look for the sport. Lessons, and many of them, need to be learned from this whole sorry circus.

After all the words of protest and denial that were laid out without a shred of shame, we will likely now have a wall of silence and attempts to hide behind the for legal reasons we can’t comment further defence. Hopefully, when the cameras are back in town, the right questions are asked. And answered. Too many questions are left unanswered, and this must not be allowed to be lost in time to another more immediate narrative.

Boxing has always been its own worst enemy, a wild west rollercoaster of a show. Rules are often an inconvenience, and money usually makes them go away. Much of the last few days leave a bitter taste that won’t go away quickly. And still, they don’t get it. Make no mistake, if they could have put the show on, they would have.

A sport that is seemingly always in the gutter. It never ever learns. After the events of late, we are there again.