Current WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. questioned any forthcoming inclusion in the rankings for British fighter Conor Benn.
Spence, set to defend his title against mandatory challenger Keith Thurman this summer, spoke out about World Boxing Council’s plans to reinstate the Briton.
Several UK reports believe the WBC rated Benn in February. The decision comes after proving he wasn’t totally at fault for two adverse findings from drug tests.
Before a doomed battle with Chris Eubank Jr., Benn was outed by British media during fight week. The whole event was subsequently scrapped. Benn has attempted to clear his name since.
Benn has protested his innocence after initially taking a back seat to allow his attorney, one of the best sports lawyers in the UK, to do his job.
Errol Spence Jr on Conor Benn
Spence revealed his stance as the WBC prepares to become the first entity to publicly back Benn.
He asked: “How [will Conor] Benn probably will get reinstated if he fails two times?”
According to UK sources, Benn claims contamination for the findings as the UK Anti-Doping Agency continues its investigation.
The WBC launched separate diligence into how Benn was found to have clomifene in his system on two occasions months apart.
Many fans on both sides of the Atlantic are skeptical about the time it took for a ruling. They also have the small matter of Benn being accused of not cooperating with the UKAD investigation as firepower to diss “The Destroyer” as guilty.
WBC Ranking
Whatever the case is, Benn can fight this year as he’s not suspended by any boxing organization. He doesn’t even need the rating that will come his way courtesy of Mauricio Sulaiman.
Eubank Jr’s loss puts that fight on the backburner while a rematch with Liam Smith takes initial priority. Therefore, it wouldn’t be unlike Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn to test the waters with a stay-busy fight.
The same thing happened with Dillian Whyte, who was under the same cloud until cleared by UKAD just before a comeback against Mariusz Wach.
British fans can probably expect to see Benn in the ring by the end of the spring, six months on from a London debacle that rocked the sport.
As for Spence, he won’t be the only high-profile fighter who scratches their head over the matter. It’s been farcical from start to finish.
