Eddie Hearn has quashed rumors that the British Boxing Control Board’s decision to withdraw their participation in the showdown between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn was influenced by an article in the Daily Mail.
The event, set for this evening, was sensationally scrapped at the last minute when it was revealed that Benn – who is about to gain weight to 10lb – had been found to have traces of a banned substance. in his system by the Anti-Doping Agency Volunteer.
What followed was outcry from fans and pundits, and a public statement from BBBofC withdrew their punishment for the fight because it was ‘not in the interest’ of the sport. Much has been said about the timing of the claim, and whether it was influenced by Mail’s monopoly.
In an interview with IFL TVThe promoter has now revealed that the board’s decision to ‘ban’ the weight class clash was made before the story went public.
“Actually, the board of directors wrote to us to say that the war would not be sanctioned before [Daily Mail story]. I think it could be morning, or whatever.
“Riath [Al-Samarrai, Daily Mail] made a statement afterwards, and finally, when that statement was broadcast from Riath, they [the BBBofC] publicize their statement that they have previously sent us. So that’s not the case. We already know, before that article was published in the Daily Mail, that the board said we were not prepared to sanction this match because we felt it was not in the best interest of boxing. “
“The decision was made, before the article was published.”
Contrary to what many might think, Hearn actually said that the article from the Daily Mail helped in making the decision to postpone the fight.
“In that situation, you see the response and you think right, this is the right thing to do.”
Even so, the promoter’s action in dragging the fight out when the fan reaction was clear was certainly not immediate. Instead, the teams backstage appear to be deliberating for another day about whether to continue the event. In the end, as the world knows, it didn’t go ahead.
