Conor Benn has raised his frustrations with the WBC after they cleared the British welterweight of an intentional doping offence after ruling a “highly-elevated consumption of eggs” was considered a “reasonable explanation” for adverse findings in two drugs tests sampled in July and September, respectively. The Destroyer has also thanked the governing body for clearing his name, although he is adamant his own scientists and legal team have determined that the initial tests results were “completely unreliable”.
Benn’s catchweight showdown with Chris Eubank Jr was waved off in October after trace amounts of Clomiphene (a fertility drug) were found in the fighter’s system.
The Matchroom boxer has since been battling to clear his name as he continued to protest his innocence and although he has made the breakthrough, Benn is still not satisfied.
Last week, the WBC revealed in a statement that the WBC claimed that they could not find conclusive evidence for intentional ingestion and instead, they pointed to Benn’s highly elevated consumption of eggs as a reasonable explanation as to why the banned substance was found within the Brit’s bloodstream.
That has now aggravated Benn, even though he is grateful they have reinstated him back into the rankings and he has been cleared to fight.
Benn said in a statement: “The WBC have declared me innocent of being a drugs cheat. I am grateful for the ultimate finding.
“It was the right decision and it was the only one I was willing to accept.
“The easy option would have been to accept a six-month ban, save myself a huge legal bill and simply move on but my reputation and my family name is worth more to me than that.
“My only frustration is that the manner in which I’ve been cleared has seemed to create further questions and add further fuel to baseless negative speculation.”
He later added: “Keeping silent when I have this evidence in my possession and listening to ignorant uninformed commentary was one of the hardest parts to process. Even following the WBC’s statement I could have just said my time I will not stay silent and have let the facts be known.
“So here’s what I can say. In my defence to the WBC and the 270-page report provided to them at no point did I indicate that I failed any VADA tests because of contaminated eggs.
“As part of its lengthy investigation, the WBC instructions its own experts to review my supplements and died and they concluded that egg contamination was the most likely cause.
“Those experts have seen this issue arise in elite athletes across other sports and I have no reason to question their analysis when it concludes that I am not a cheat.
“However, I feel like the WBC statement did a disservice to my defence which was based upon a comprehensive scientific review of the testing procedures which set out a number of reasons why we believed the results were completely unreliable and proved beyond any reasonable doubt that I am innocent.
“The report prepared by science and legal team contained extensive analysis of both tests and concluded that there was clear evidence of fundamental flaws and irregularities.
“By way of just one example, my smile appears to have come back clear the first three times it was tested.
“Without explanation it was retested again after nine days and only then did it show a trace positive results. It should have only been tested once! These critical findings were endorsed by an independent expert scientist who provides accreditation to laboratories and his opinion was that many issues were so troubling and serious that the lab could lose its accreditation.
“My team will be referring the issues to the relevant according body so it can make its own determination.”
Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn has hinted the matter with the WBC is not yet fully over, hinting Benn could potentially pursue further legal action to fully clear his name.
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