When Conor Benn failed an anti-doping examination in 2022 that canceled a bout with arch rival Chris Eubank Jr., he immediately denied the allegations.
That was hardly a surprise, because 99 percent of those who fail their drug tests do the same.
They show up looking like the favorite to win Mr. Olympia, yet somehow are flabbergasted they failed an anti-doping test.
Go figure.
I was highly skeptical of Benn’s denials, but I’ve covered anti-doping issues for long enough to understand the importance of keeping an open mind and hearing all of the evidence.
Benn said his elevated testosterone levels were the result of egg contamination, and he was ultimately cleared of the allegations.
Eggscellent, Benn’s fans, said.
I never fully bought Benn’s excuse and have long had my doubts about the ruling. So when it was announced that Benn and Eubank had finally agreed to fight on April 26 in England, I couldn’t help but think: Wouldn’t it be fitting if Eubank knocked him out?
Eubank lost whatever goodwill he had built up for him as a result of Benn’s test failures before the end of the first press conference, though. Bringing an egg as a prop would have been fine to rattle Benn. But when he used it and slapped Benn with the egg in his left hand, he turned the whole thing into The Bozo Show.
Eubank, of course, was the lead clown.
Security jumped in and chaos abounded. The issue with all of this is the potential for one of the fighters to get injured and force postponement or cancelation for the bout.
A shove from the wrong direction leads to a knee injury which leads to no fight. At that point, you’ve left yourself open for all sorts of legal jeopardy in addition to getting no payday.
Let’s say the slap with the egg in the hand that led to the scrum winds up not harmlessly but with someone falling across Benn’s leg.
And he tears the ACL, the MCL and the PCL.
An injury like that could lead to a year or more out of the ring. If that scenario played itself out, and it’s not hard to imagine that occurring given the nature of those free-for-alls, Benn could have been looking at a year or two away from the ring.
At that point, Eubank’s potentially on the hook for Benn’s lost earnings since his actions led to the injury that put the man’s career on hold.
Boxers have played pranks on their opponents for years in an attempt to get into their heads.
When Oscar De La Hoya was preparing to fight Floyd Mayweather, Mayweather brought a chicken with a tiny gold medal around its neck to the press conference.
Mayweather’s team often stole De La Hoya’s food or managed to change his order.
Manny Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach sent a 12-pound New York cheesecake from Carnegie’s Deli to De La Hoya at his training camp after De La Hoya was heard in an episode of 24/7 saying he was underweight.
The next episode showed De La Hoya hurling the cheesecake down the driveway.
There’s a lot of leeway there. But touching the opponent at a news conference or public event is never justified.
We did get screwed by event security out of perhaps the greatest press conference highlight of the decade.
After Eubank smacks Benn and folks rush in to break up the incident, Benn promoter Eddie Hearn can be seen circling the pile and heading for Eubank promoter Ben Shalom.
A couple of hulking security guards got between them, spoiling the fun.
Watching those two throw down, and potentially seeing one of them getting clocked by a right hand on the chin, might have made the rest of the nonsense worthwhile.
Smacking Benn with an egg in his hand is not the crime of the century, and Eubank shouldn’t be paraded through town in shackles. But he crossed a line that goes beyond class and showmanship. These scuffles put too many people at risk.
A fine should be the minimum penalty. If it happens again, his license should be on the table.
Boxing is chaotic enough inside the ropes. The last thing it needs is fighters sabotaging their own paydays with mindless pranks. There’s no show without a fight, and there’s no paycheck without a show.