IF THERE’S one sport and game that keeps on giving it is boxing. 

The announcement by sanctioning body, the WBC, that after a prolonged investigation they found no conclusive proof that the adverse finding from one of two failed Conor Benn drugs tests were anything other than the high consumption of eggs, thus clearing him of cheating, this will have every chicken egg farmer from Land’s End to John O’Groats rubbing their hands in anticipation of a sharp upsurge in demand.

Clomiphene, the banned substance found in Benn’s system on two occasions, is used to induce ovulation (egg production) in women who do not produce ova (eggs), but wish to become pregnant.

Its side-effect in the interests of balancing the body’s chemicals and hormones is the stimulation of increased production of the male hormone testosterone.

For a fighter trying to increase muscle weight and power, as Benn was in preparation to face Chris Eubank Jnr last year, the benefits when it comes to the ingestion of clomiphene are clear.

The problem with the WBC ruling is that while minute amounts of clomiphene are to found in eggs, this particular substance is not authorised for use in animals in Britain, which means that the 30 to 34 eggs a week that Benn would have to have been consuming to show up in his testing samples would needs must have had to have been imported from out of the country.

On face value, this clearly doesn’t stand up.

This entire fiasco has the distinct whiff of money taking precedence over integrity when it comes to top-flight boxing.

What should not be lost is that Benn, as with Canelo when it came to the dodgy beef cited as an excuse for the Mexican’s failed drugs test a couple of years ago, is currently a cash cow pay-per-view star for promoter Eddie Hearn and the WBC. And as the man said when it comes to understanding skulduggery: “Follow the money.”

The exorbitant sanctioning fees that the WBC receives from its champions and the hefty promotional fees that flow into the coffers of the Eddie Hearns of this world are at odds with the application of the kind of stringent adherence to good governance of this the most dangerous sport in the world.

In response to the WBC ruling Robert Smith, head of the British Boxing Board of Control, issued his own statement.

This is to the effect that the BBBofC was not party to the review conducted by the WBC or was provided with a copy of the evidence submitted by Benn in relation to the adverse finding from one of the two positive tests found in two separate urine samples. 

In essence, the board is stating that while the WBC ruling is noted, as far as they are concerned their own investigation into Benn’s two failed tests will continue under the remit of UK anti-doping agency, UKAD.

Smith is clearly not willing to allow his trousers to be pulled down in response to this development, and nor should be.

Ultimately, the WBC ruling has gone down like the proverbial lead balloon among many prominent and not so prominent voices within the sport, carrying as it does the suspicion that it’s just too convenient under the circumstances.

Prominent boxing scribe and commentator, Gareth A Davies, maintains that while the WBC ruling now allows Benn to fight abroad, he still needs to “prove his name” with the British Boxing Board of Control and UKAD to not be able to fight in Britain, but perhaps even more importantly to win over the fans as to his innocence when it comes to the two failed tests he registered last year.

In this regard, only Eddie Hearn and Conor Benn’s bank managers could possibly disagree.

When it comes to proving names, Tommy Fury will climb into the ring at the Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia this Sunday with the pressure of doing exactly that against YouTuber-cum fighter, Jake Paul. 

The Fury name has colonised the sport in Britain and beyond for a long time now, due to the looming presence and huge personality of heavyweight king, Tyson Fury, his half-elder brother.

Fury the younger has fought eight times as a pro against very average opposition up to now, and he hasn’t looked all that convincing in dispatching most of it.

There is such a thing as a “gym fighter” in boxing — ie an athlete who dazzles in sparring but when when he or she has to perform under the lights in front of a live audience and the scrutiny of the media, they crumble and freeze up.

Either that or adrenalin and nerves get the better of them and everything they’ve been working on in the gym flies out the window and they end winging punches as if brawling outside the local kebab shop after a night on the sauce.

So, yes, Tommy Fury has on the back of his brother’s name been handed the opportunity of a lifetime against Jake Paul, who for the purists out there has made a mockery of the sport since embarking on his journey in it just three years ago. 

If Fury loses, as Paul is confident he will, he may well have to revert to using his mother’s maiden name, such will be the disgrace experienced by the Furies — a family for whom boxing and fighting sits on the same level and breathing and eating.

If Paul loses and what’s more looks out of his depth in the process, then hopefully it wil mark the end of that circus otherwise known as YouTube boxing.

Mad innit?