“We Just Look Forward to Him Fighting”: Months After Being Vindicated of Doping Accusations, Conor Benn’s Trainer Reflects on the ‘Rough’ Time for the World Champion

British fighter, Conor Benn has embarked on a mission to rebuild his reputation in the ring after his undefeated 22-fight career was marred in controversy for testing positive for banned substances. As he remains vindicated of those accusations, his trainer Tony Sims reflected on the “rough” times his fighter has been through.

The WBC has absolved the 27-year-old on charges of consuming clomiphene, a banned PED. However, the BBBofC (British Boxing Board of Control) remains unsatisfied with the development preventing him from fighting in the UK. On the other hand, the clean chit given by the WBC has allowed him to fight beyond the UK. Leveraging these circumstances, he now takes his second fight since the controversy on February 3 against undefeated Peter Dobson at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. Ahead of the fight, his trainer acknowledged his resilience through the tough times.

Conor Benn and his camp moves on…

In a heartfelt note to Boxing Social, Matchroom Boxing’s head coach and 2019 Hall of Fame trainer, Sims reflected on what he said to Benn in the wake of his doping fiasco. “It was tough for everybody involved in the gym and it was rough. And it’s like I said to him before, look in six months time, things will never be as bad as they are now. So you gotta just keep looking forward every six months, where you are at,” revealed the trainer. Benn’s fight against his longstanding opponent, Chris Eubank Jr. was called off after his VADA tests came positive twice.

In September, with the rigorous efforts of his promoter, Eddie Hearn, Benn landed a fight against Rodolfo Orozco, outside of the UK, winning it via UD. Evaluating the win, the trainer noted how keen his fighter was in rebuilding his lost legacy. “As you said, he boxed in September, a tough opponent, a lot bigger than Conor, and come out victorious, took the ring rust off of him and now he’ll get another fight under his belt in February. So, we just look forward to him fighting again and just continue moving forward.”

While Benn has constantly reiterated his denial of consuming the PED, the WBC however cleared his name from such allegations, citing peculiar reasons.

What was the Conor Benn- PED fiasco?

In the wake of his positive VADA reports, the fighter refused to cooperate with the UKAD investigation owing to his feud with the BBBofC. He instead complied with the WBC investigation, providing the sanctioning body with a 270-page defense report. While the body held no power to ban him, all they could do was remove him from their rankings.

In their ruling, the WBC reinstated him in their welterweight top 15 citing possible explanations for the VADA report. However, Benn, still maintaining his innocence, Benn rejected their insinuation. While he claimed lab errors as an explanation for the positive report, the WBC suggested the over-consumption of eggs, leading to the spiked clomiphene levels.

Also Read: “They Have Got Bad at Testing”: Nico Ali Walsh Remains Brutally Honest About the Current State of Doping Test Rules in Boxing (Exclusive)

He announced his return to the ring on June 3, for a fight in either the US or the UAE. Intervening later, the BBBofC announced that anybody under their license would face their sanctions for involvement in his fights.

It is now being reported that the fighter is complying with the UKAD investigation and his team has provided the 270-page defense report to them as well. What do you think of the tussle between the BBBofC and Conor Benn? Let us know in the comments section below.

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