BOXING has witnessed many tawdry and unedifying moments, but it would be hard to find one as tawdry and unedifying as the spectacle of co-promoters Eddie Hearn and Kalle Sauerland jumping through hoops to try and salvage Conor Benn v Chris Eubank Jr in Greenwich, London this weekend –  despite the former failing a VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency) drugs test for the banned substance clomifene, the female fertility drug which can raise testosterone levels when taken by men, at the start of September.

Thankfully in the end sanity won out and the fight has been postponed. But not before its reputation was sullied by Hearn and Sauerland initially refusing to accept the British Boxing Board of Control’s announcement on Wednesday, withdrawing their sanctioning of the fight on grounds that is “not in the interests of boxing”, as the last word on the matter and are said to have explored the avenue of legal action and an injunction against the Board to force the issue.

In his statement, formally announcing the fight’s postponement, Hearn confirmed that he believed the board’s decision to withdraw its sanctioning of the bout was “procedurally flawed and without due process.” He goes on to state that he intends to pursue legal action against the board in consequence.

Not that the board has no questions to answer itself. News of the result of the adverse VADA test was received, it has come to light, by all the parties involved, including the board, on September 23. That the latter only withdrew its sanctioning of the fight after the story broke in the Daily Mail on Wednesday is suggestive of opportunism, not principle.

Even before this turn of events, this was a fight that bore all the hallmarks of a disaster in the making — what with Eubank Jr having to boil himself all the way down to a 157lb catchweight and only allowed to put on 5lbs between the Friday afternoon weigh-in and Saturday night fight, as per one of the most ludicrously tight rehydration clauses ever imposed.

Now, with the Benn failed drug test revelations, it’s clear that if he hadn’t tested positive we were looking at the sickening prospect of a weight-drained and dehydrated Chris Eubank Jr facing an opponent coming up in weight 10lbs from welterweight, fully fed, hydrated and who’d likely used performance-enhancing drugs as part of his preparations.

Eubank Jr’s father Chris Eubank Sr had called for the fight to be boycotted even before the news came out about Benn’s failed drugs test, rightly concerned about his son getting all the way down to 157: “We have to be strict,” he declared openly, “otherwise lives are put in danger and my son’s life cannot be put in danger. I’ve already lost one. It can’t happen again.”

The son he he lost is Sebastian Eubank, who died tragically at the age of 29 in 2021 from a massive heart attack while swimming in the sea in Dubai, and whose death undoubtedly adds import to the very real risks being taken by another son when it comes to Saturday night’s proceedings.

The legacy of the epic rivalry of the fathers, who shared the ring twice and many a TV studio back in the early nineties, was the only thing that gave this fight any validity when first announced. Indeed it’s hard to believe that the British Boxing Board of Control would have dreamt of originally sanctioning such a dangerous farrago otherwise. 

Conor Benn is that rare specimen of a fighter who has captured the public’s imagination without winning as much as a British title, never mind challenging for European or world honours. Operating at welterweight, he had come up in weight a full 10lbs to participate in one of the most lavish domestic clashes in years against a 33-year-old Eubank Jr, who has challenged for a world title twice — against Billy Joe Saunders in 2014 and George Groves in 2018 — and come up short on both occasions.

In an era in which YouTube boxing has been allowed to elbow its way into the arena as comparable with the real thing, in which exhibition bouts involving way-past-their-best former champions are all the rage, belts and titles are fast becoming obsolete — lost to the spectacle and hype that accompanies name recognition, bluster and the synthetic animosity that now predominates.

Questions now abound when it comes to the fourteen knockouts on Conor Benn’s unbeaten 20-fight record. Has he used PEDs throughout his career but only been caught this one time? His former opponent Chris van Heerden has been vocal in making this very point. In an interview after the failed drugs test revelations, van Heerden opined: “I could not help but to raise the question and go, damn, was he clean when he fought me?”

It should be noted that Benn has passed all his British Boxing Board of Control affiliated UKAD drug tests since the VADA positive test in August. And, too, until his VADA B-urine sample comes back positive, he remains innocent until proven guilty. The point though is that this fight would’ve gone ahead without the result of the B-sample being made known.

This week only confirms that money has been allowed to take precedence over fighters’ safety and sporting integrity within boxing. Both fighters were set to make substantial purses of millions, and promoters Hearn and Sauerland were looking forward to taking a tidy sum out of this PPV pie as well. And of course — and most importantly — the fight’s postponement has left thousands of fans out of pocket vis-a-vis accommodation and travel costs.

No matter, there has to be a point at which enough is enough, given that boxing is a sport in which its participants can be legally killed. Yes, because it’s that simple — and it’s that profound.