Conor Benn has been cleared of a doping offense after the World Boxing Council (WBC) ruled that a “highly elevated consumption of eggs” constituted a “reasonable explanation” for his positive finding.
A scheduled catchweight “grudge” bout against British rival Chris Eubank Jr scheduled for October last year was canceled after trace amounts of a fertility drug, clomiphene — which is known to elevate testosterone levels in men — were found in Benn’s urine.
Benn, 26, had denied intentionally or knowingly ingesting any banned substances and in December last year broke his silence in a long post on Instagram, saying: “The truth will soon come out.”
Photo: Reuters
On Wednesday, the WBC, having consulted a nutritionist, announced that it was reinstating the London boxer in its rankings and stated there was “no conclusive evidence that Benn engaged in intentional or knowing ingestion of clomiphene.”
“Mr Benn’s documented and highly elevated consumption of eggs during the times relevant to the sample collection raised a reasonable explanation for the adverse finding,” it said. “The WBC shall include Mr Benn in its ratings during the period immediately following the issuance of its ruling.”
The global governing body said that it would correspond with the World Anti-Doping Agency over concerns about clomiphene as a food contaminant and “the potential for false positives caused by ingestion of contaminated food.”
Photo: AP
Despite the WBC ruling, Benn remains under investigation by UK Anti-Doping and the British Boxing Board of Control.
Until their inquiries are finished, Benn will not be licensed to box in the UK, but could fight in another country under a different jurisdiction.
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