Embattled welterweight Conor Benn may have to ply his trade away from his native England for the second time in a row.
According to Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, the Essex native will be fighting on Feb. 3, regardless of the fact that the fight that was planned for that date involving Chris Eubank Jr. fell through last week.
But unlike that fight, which was penciled in for Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Benn’s next move, Hearn says, will take place in a completely different jurisdiction.
Hearn said the nationality of Benn’s next opponent and absence of available venues in England precipitated the need to have Benn fight on foreign soil.
“Because I think it will be an American opponent, an international opponent,” Hearn said when asked why Benn would not be fighting in England in an interview with Boxing News. “Also, there’s no venues available on February the 3rd.
“It’s not going to be a stadium fight. We know the O2 [Arena] is taken with [light heavyweights Joshua] Buatsi against [Dan] Azeez. We’re going to go UK time zone, but we’re going to go internationally. It’s going to be impressive.”
Of course, there is also the fact that Benn does not have the blessing of the British Boxing Board of Culture to fight legally in his homeland that may have factored in Hearn’s decision making.
Benn, whose two positive tests for the banned performance enhancing drug clomifene last year, has been running afoul of regulators in England by largely refusing to cooperate with them in their inquiries into his illicit behavior. Benn’s suspension was lifted in the summer, but that decision was appealed by UK Anti-Doping and BBBofC; the appeal is ongoing, however, it is not clear what kind of progress has been made.
Despite the controversy, Benn returned to action for the first time in nearly 18 months in September by taking on Rodolfo Orozco in a 154-pound bout in a Matchroom-promoted card in Orlando, Florida.
Benn’s inclusion on that card was fraught with blowback and criticism, with many accusing Hearn of “commission shopping.” Indeed, the Florida commission was one of the few US boxing commissions willing to greenlight Benn’s return. Several highly prominent heads of state commissions informed BoxingScene.com at the time that their organizations would refuse Benn on any card in their state so long as his situation with the BBBofC remains unresolved.
As for Benn’s opponent, Hearn suggested that the lead time for the fight was too short to bring in a competitive B-side. Hearn said he wants Benn to fight again in April.
“It’s five and half weeks,” Hearn said. “The plan with Conor is to fight in February and again in April.”
“Conor Benn will fight February the 3rd,” Hearn added. “We’ll announce it this week.”
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.