Conor Benn thinks misconduct charge is 'absurd' says promoter Eddie Hearn

Conor Benn feels the misconduct charge levelled against him by the British Boxing Board of Control is "absurd", according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.

The Board announced on Wednesday Benn had "voluntarily relinquished" his boxing licence prior to a "misconduct" hearing on 21 October.

Hearn denied this, saying Benn's licence "expired".

"They charged him with misconduct, not in relation to a doping ban," Hearn added.

"Which he felt was one, absurd and two, he had no chance of a fair hearing at all."

Benn's bout with fellow Briton Chris Eubank Jr on 8 October was called off after he tested positive for the banned substance clomifene.

In an unattributed statement which appeared on Benn's Instagram, it was said he "refuted" [sic] the misconduct allegation and believed the investigation was "unfair".

"He [Benn] reiterates in no uncertain terms that he is a clean athlete," the statement said.

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'Contamination could be an issue'

The misconduct charge was "upheld" in the BBBofC hearing as the UK Anti-Doping agency continues to look into Benn's failed test conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada).

Benn tested positive for banned substance clomifene, which is prohibited for use inside and outside of competition under the World Anti-Doping Agency's regulations, which Ukad adheres to.

But Vada is not an official partner of Ukad or the Board, which meant Benn was not immediately suspended following the positive test.

Hearn echoed the words of his fighter, suggesting the 26-year-old intended to fight for his innocence in the courts rather than through the Board's own disciplinary avenues.

"He's his own man, that's his own decision, we're not involved in that process, we weren't involved in that hearing," Hearn said.

"But he feels he has to take this fight to a high level to make sure he gets the correct due process."

Hearn said Benn is now in a fight for his career as he faces a maximum four-year ban if Ukad proceeds with a charge and finds him guilty of a doping offence.

Neither Benn or his team have made any detailed statements about why he failed a drug test, but Hearn said the fighter was tested "multiple" times by Ukad and Vada in the build-up to his fight with Eubank.

Hearn said between Benn and Eubank they were tested "half a dozen times" and suggested an explanation for how the women's fertility drug clomifene was found in Benn's system.

"When we talk about Conor Benn individually, we're not his manager or his press officer but we support him," Hearn said.

"I can tell you the levels found in his test and in relation to other tests around the same time that were negative on both ends of that positive test, suggest that the levels in Conor Benn were not performance enhancing.

"Contamination could be an issue," he insisted. "But of course it's not enough for me to say that, he has to prove the contamination and that will be his biggest fight."

'The board need to change their rules'

Benn and his trainer Tony Sims have denied any doping took place

Hearn again criticised the BBBofC for taking what he felt was too long to notify Benn that he had failed a drugs test.

He said: "That's good that there's extra layers of security, but we need to know that's universally acknowledged because all it does at the moment is almost put us in a difficult position.

"We received the news and then it's up to the Board. Unfortunately the Board took two weeks to come to a decision and made the situation worse than it should have been.

"If they acknowledged Vada they would have cancelled the fight immediately, they didn't. Now we're in the situation we're in.

"I think the Board need to change their rules and not just acknowledge Ukad but acknowledge extra layers of testing and security that we implement and pay for."

BBC Sport has contacted the BBBofC for comment.