Cedrick Peynaud has called for Conor Benn to get suspended over the two failed drug tests flagged by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency.
The opponent who dropped Benn twice and gave him two black eyes has addressed the ongoing saga with World Boxing News exclusively.
Frenchman Peynaud shared the ring with Benn on the undercard of Katie Taylor vs Jessica McCaskill in December 2017. The six-round bout held expectations of an easy night’s work for Benn.
However, Peynaud ripped up the British Boxing script and gave Benn kittens for the contest’s duration. Many even thought Peynaud did enough to get the decision.
The Paris native might have done so if it had not been for a late revival by Benn in the fifth and sixth rounds at York Hall.
In the end, Benn took the verdict 57-54 on referee Bob Williams’ card at the famous London venue.
Peynaud did earn himself a lucrative rematch over ten rounds, though. But this time, there was no underestimation from the British boxer.
Benn eased to a unanimous win and hardly lost a round. Scores read 98-90, 98-91, and 97-90 at the O2 Arena.
The return was part of the Dillian Whyte vs Joseph Parker Pay Per View in July 2018.
Cedrick Peynaud talks about Conor Benn
Four years on, Peynaud has lost two of four bouts after Benn. However, he hasn’t fought since facing Ekow Essuman on the same York Hall stage in September 2020.
WBN managed to catch up with Peynaud to gauge his thoughts on a controversial month for his old rival.
On the back of commenting on a social media post where he references Benn as “a cheat,” WBN wanted to gather the thoughts of a man who went life or death with Benn for 18 minutes.
When asked what he thought about the two drug test failures by Conor Benn, Peynaud told World Boxing News: “It’s sad because to be the best is to improve yourself, but not at the expense of someone else.
“We all know that the truth always comes out in the open in the end. So with Conor Benn, we will see.”
Peynaud calls for Benn suspension
On whether he suspected Benn of taking something during their fight, Peynaud responded: “After seeing his face at the end of our battle [two swollen black eyes], maybe he thought he should take something magic.
“But I can reveal that we did not have an anti-doping test for our rematch. As it was for an international title, I thought it was obligatory. But maybe Benn knew it couldn’t be negative,” he jokingly added.
WBN continued by quizzing Peynaud on whether he believes Conor Benn should face a ban.
“If a test has a problem, we reap what we sow. Benn had several checks and several failures. In the end, it can’t be a mistake, so yes, he must be suspended.
“But I think there is a global problem, unfortunately. I think there have always been problems, and there will still be plenty of them in the future.
“The whole situation completely distorts the sport.”
“I forged his mind”
Concluding on if welterweight Benn had a chance of beating middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. in a catchweight bout, Peynaud said: “Yes, I believe he had a chance against Eubank despite the weight difference.
“In a fight like this [where there is a catchweight], there could have been advantageous for both. It would have been interesting to see what damage they caused in this fight.
“I forged him the mind for fights like this [with our battle]. This mindset is what I brought to him for his future fights.”
Peynaud still gets credited with bringing Benn’s career on in the early stages when many fans questioned his ability.
Since then, Benn has gone from strength to strength and recently knocked out former world champions Chris Algieri and Chris Van Heerden.
With his fight with Eubank probably lost forever, those who wanted to witness the main card had a tough pill to swallow.
The UK boxing community had a continuation of the Old Trafford clash between Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn taken from their grasp with only two days to go.
Benn Sr. flew in from Australia to witness his son put off a world title shot to settle the family business.
His offspring admitted it was “the biggest fight of my career” on the DAZN app [smart TVs and devices]. However, October 8 is now all now in the past.
Undercard fighters Gemma Ruegg, Connor Coyle, Cesar Hernan Reynoso, Jiri Surmaj, Nancy Franco, and Ellie Scotney also missed out on a big night in London.
Conor Benn could escape a ban
The saga isn’t over, though, until the final verdict comes down against Benn. As WBN reported on Saturday, a ban is not guaranteed.
WBN determined that Benn could escape a suspension. The recommendation from VADA would only be actionable by the World Boxing Council at this point.
Even if the WBC does give the British welterweight a ban, which is certainly not set in stone, Benn would still be able to apply his trade outside the organization’s scope.
It would only be UKAD that could fully put Benn out of action. But even then, there are options to get around that possible happening.
Regarding VADA – the body that uncovered the adverse findings in two separate samples – they do not handle the adjudication of results.
Adjudication is left to the commissions and sanctioning bodies. VADA always gives the results of their tests to the athlete, promoters, commission, sanctioning bodies involved, and the ABC.
WBN Editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram, and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
