Conor Benn says WBC did him ‘disservice’ with drug test ruling stemming from ‘elevated’ consumption of eggs

British boxer Conor Benn has targeted the World Boxing Council after he was cleared of doping charges last week. Benn claims that the WBC did him a “disservice” by saying that he failed drug tests as a result of overeating eggs.

On February 22, the WBC released its decision in which it exempts Benn from doping, while noting that the trace amounts of clomiphene and its metabolites found in Benn’s sample could be due to the consumption of large amounts of eggs.

“Mr. Benn’s documented excessive consumption of eggs during sample collection provided a reasonable explanation for the adverse outcome,” the WBC said in a ruling.

After an investigation, Benn was allowed to return to the WBC welterweight rankings, but the boxer is still unhappy with how the organization handled the situation. In a lengthy statement posted on social media, Benn said he never admitted to failing the test because he only came back positive after having already been tested multiple times.

“In my defense to the WBC and the 270-page report they provided, I never indicated that I failed any VADA tests due to contaminated eggs,” Benn said. “I feel the WBC statement has done a disservice to my defense.

“As part of their lengthy investigation, the WBC had their own experts review my supplements and diet, and they concluded that egg contamination was the most likely cause.

“My sample appeared to be clear after the first three tests. Without explanation, he was tested again nine days later, and only then did he show traces of a positive result.

Benn also called on the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) to attack him “publicly and privately” throughout the process. He claimed that the BBofC treated him “with total contempt and no regard for fair process or my mental state.”

Benn was scheduled to fight Chris Eubank Jr. in October, but their fight was canceled after Benn’s August test result appeared suspicious to the British Boxing Board of Control. It should have been an interesting fight as their fathers, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank, were famous contenders at the time when they were active boxers.

Benn’s original test sample “gave an Adverse Analytical Finding for clomiphene and its hydroxymetabolites MI and M2.” Clomiphene and its metabolites are always banned under the WBC Clean Boxing Program because they increase testosterone production and increase testosterone levels.

On January 26, members of the WBC Results Processing Unit questioned Benn and members of his legal team. Boxer all the time insisted on his innocence.

“We have never cut corners or cheated the process in any way,” Benn wrote in a statement in December. “… It was very difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that people think that I will do what they accuse me of.”

The WBC has spoken to an expert nutritionist to investigate, and the nutrition committee will work with Benn’s team going forward to develop a nutrition program that will help avoid future adverse outcomes, the ruling said. The eggs Benn said he ate may have been contaminated, so the board said they would also “establish a liaison line with WADA about WBC concerns about clomiphene as a food contaminant and the possibility of false positives caused by eating contaminated food.” “

This will not be the first case of contaminated food in boxing. In 2018, Canelo Alvarez tested positive twice for clenbuterol after eating contaminated meat.