Despite not fighting in a year, British welterweight Conor Benn ascended in the World Boxing Council Rankings released on Thursday.
Benn went from seventh in March to sixth in April after being initially suspended from the ratings before the WBC reinstated the Londoner.
“The Destroyer” tested positive for banned substances twice, leading to the WBC removing Benn pending investigation.
Upon reviewing a 270-page dossier provided by Benn’s team, the WBC presumed a high intake of eggs was the culprit. The WBC Rankings Commission rejected Benn’s notion that tampering with the samples was the actual cause.
However, the WBC clarified that they couldn’t prove that Benn intentionally took clomiphene in preparation for his doomed fight with Chris Eubank Jr.
Conor Benn moves up the WBC Rankings
World Boxing Council chiefs placed Benn back in the March rankings at seven, only to move him up a place a month later.
It’s a strange situation given that Benn remains under scrutiny from the British Boxing Board of Control, VADA, and with the UK Anti-Doping Agency watching closely.
The threat of suspension remains high given what happened to compatriot Amir Khan this week, fourteen months after he gave a positive test.
Khan was banned for two years after he was able to prove he didn’t knowingly take ostarine. He avoided the standard four-year ban.
It’s unclear if Benn is under the same spotlight with UKAD as all proceeds are confidential, as BBBofC Secretary Robert Smith explained.
He told talkSPORT: “I’m frustrated with regards to how long it takes, but any athlete’s entitled to due process. That’s what they’ve done.
“UKAD deal with all our disciplinary matters with regard to anti-doping. They have a process in place for any other sport in the country. We have to abide by that.
“We’ve signed up to them, as have every other sport in the country.
“I’m as frustrated as anybody else, but that’s what we’ve signed up to. They have a process. That’s how the process works.
“I think it’s too slow, but that’s up to them. That’s how they deal with it. There’s not much I can do about it at the present time.”
Possible UKAD suspension
Due to that ‘slowness,’ Benn could be waiting until January 2025 to find out his fate but may be suspended until at least October or December 2024 – if it’s backdated.
For now, Benn has the support of the WBC, the only sanctioning body in the sport that rates the undefeated fighter.
Not only do they rank him, but they are also moving him up despite Benn’s last win against Chris Van Heerden in April 2022.
WBC Welterweight Rankings – April 2023
1 Keith Thurman US
2 Cody Crowley Canada
3 Yordenis Ugas Cuba
4 Souleymane Cissokho France SILVER
5 Mario Barrios US CONTINENTAL AMERICAS
6 Conor Benn GB
7 Egidijus Kavaliauskas Lithuania/US
8 David Avanesyan Armenia
9 Thulani Mbenge South Africa
10 Roiman Villa Venezuela
11 Abel Ramos US
12 Raul Curiel Mexico NABF
13 Jamal James US
14 Rashidi Ellis US
15 Lucas Santamaria US
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN. Follow WBN: Facebook, Insta, Twitter.
