Tag: Kalle Sauerland

Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn fight postponed in wake of Benn’s failed drug test

The Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn fight, scheduled for Saturday in London, has been postponed in the wake of Benn’s failed drug test.

The fight between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. is off … for now.

Promoters on Thursday postponed the event, scheduled for Saturday in London, in the wake of Benn’s failed test for a banned fertility drug that can boost testosterone.

No new target date has been announced.

The British Boxing Board of Control, which oversees the sport in the U.K., refused to sanction the bout after the positive test. Promoters had said indicated they might seek an outside body to sanction the bout but decided against that.

“After discussions with various parties, we have taken the decision to formally postpone the bout between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn,” Matchroom Boxing announced.

The promoter went on: “It is undeniable that the British Boxing board of Control’s decision to withdraw their sanctioning was procedurally flawed and without due process. That remains a legal issue between the promoters and the Board which we intend to pursue.”

Eddie Hearn, chairman of Matchroom, had said Thursday that promoters would not try to find an outside organization to sanction the fight.

“It’s been done before and it’s ot something Ive looked at before or something I necessarily agree with,” Hearn said. “This is not a situation where we want to run rogue and come up with an alternative plan.”

Hearn reportedly also considered seeking an injunction to save the fight but also decided against that.

“Whilst there are legal routes to facilitate the fight taking place as planned, we do not believe that it is in the fighters’ interests for those to be pursued at such a late stage, or in the wider interest of the sport. …

“As promoters we take our obligations and duties very seriously, and a full investigation will now need to take place.”

Eubank’s promoter, Kalle Sauerland, said Wednesday that Eubank and Benn learned of Benn’s positive test weeks before the event was due to take place, according to the BBC. Eubank still wanted to fight.

“We discussed it straight away with the most important person from our side, the athlete. He was happy to continue and spoke to Benn directly,” Sauerland said.

Meanwhile, Benn said that he’s “a clean athlete.”

“I’ve not committed any violations, I’ve not been suspended, so as far as I’m concerned the fight is still going ahead,” he said to members of the media after a workout Wednesday. “I’ve signed up to every voluntary anti-doping test under the sun, throughout my whole career I’m tested, I’ve always come back negative, I’ve never had any issues before.

“My team will find out why there has been an initial adverse finding in my test, but as far as I’m concerned the fight is going ahead. I’m a clean athlete and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

He went on: “We both (Benn and Eubank) want the fight to go ahead. We’ve both taken medical and legal advice and we both want the fight to happen for the fans. He fully believes, he believes in me, and it’s not who I am, or what I’m about. I’m a pro athlete and he was understanding.”

Benn tested positive for Clomifene, a fertility drug for women that reportedly can increase testosterone levels in men.

He was tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, which doesn’t work directly with the BBBofC. That’s one reason Hearn believes the governing body had no right to prohibit the fight.

However, UK Anti-Doping Chief Executive Jane Rumble said her organization recognizes all legitimate drug testing.

“UKAD notes the reporting of a failed VADA test by the boxers Conor Benn with concern. … UKAD acts on all reports of doping and always encourages anyone with information on suspected doping activity to come forward and share that with us.”

[lawrence-related id=33155,33140]

Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn fight postponed in wake of Benn’s failed drug test

The Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn fight, scheduled for Saturday in London, has been postponed in the wake of Benn’s failed drug test.

The fight between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. is off … for now.

Promoters on Thursday postponed the event, scheduled for Saturday in London, in the wake of Benn’s failed test for a banned fertility drug that can boost testosterone.

No new target date has been announced.

The British Boxing Board of Control, which oversees the sport in the U.K., refused to sanction the bout after the positive test. Promoters had said indicated they might seek an outside body to sanction the bout but decided against that.

“After discussions with various parties, we have taken the decision to formally postpone the bout between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn,” Matchroom Boxing announced.

The promoter went on: “It is undeniable that the British Boxing board of Control’s decision to withdraw their sanctioning was procedurally flawed and without due process. That remains a legal issue between the promoters and the Board which we intend to pursue.”

Eddie Hearn, chairman of Matchroom, had said Thursday that promoters would not try to find an outside organization to sanction the fight.

“It’s been done before and it’s ot something Ive looked at before or something I necessarily agree with,” Hearn said. “This is not a situation where we want to run rogue and come up with an alternative plan.”

Hearn reportedly also considered seeking an injunction to save the fight but also decided against that.

“Whilst there are legal routes to facilitate the fight taking place as planned, we do not believe that it is in the fighters’ interests for those to be pursued at such a late stage, or in the wider interest of the sport. …

“As promoters we take our obligations and duties very seriously, and a full investigation will now need to take place.”

Eubank’s promoter, Kalle Sauerland, said Wednesday that Eubank and Benn learned of Benn’s positive test weeks before the event was due to take place, according to the BBC. Eubank still wanted to fight.

“We discussed it straight away with the most important person from our side, the athlete. He was happy to continue and spoke to Benn directly,” Sauerland said.

Meanwhile, Benn said that he’s “a clean athlete.”

“I’ve not committed any violations, I’ve not been suspended, so as far as I’m concerned the fight is still going ahead,” he said to members of the media after a workout Wednesday. “I’ve signed up to every voluntary anti-doping test under the sun, throughout my whole career I’m tested, I’ve always come back negative, I’ve never had any issues before.

“My team will find out why there has been an initial adverse finding in my test, but as far as I’m concerned the fight is going ahead. I’m a clean athlete and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

He went on: “We both (Benn and Eubank) want the fight to go ahead. We’ve both taken medical and legal advice and we both want the fight to happen for the fans. He fully believes, he believes in me, and it’s not who I am, or what I’m about. I’m a pro athlete and he was understanding.”

Benn tested positive for Clomifene, a fertility drug for women that reportedly can increase testosterone levels in men.

He was tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, which doesn’t work directly with the BBBofC. That’s one reason Hearn believes the governing body had no right to prohibit the fight.

However, UK Anti-Doping Chief Executive Jane Rumble said her organization recognizes all legitimate drug testing.

“UKAD notes the reporting of a failed VADA test by the boxers Conor Benn with concern. … UKAD acts on all reports of doping and always encourages anyone with information on suspected doping activity to come forward and share that with us.”

[lawrence-related id=33155,33140]

British promoters at a loss: ‘We don’t know what we’re dealing with here’

British boxing promoters find themselves in a state of doom and gloom as a result of the ravaging effects of the coronavirus…

For once, boxing promoters are tongue-tied. 

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the sport, forcing promoters to cancel high-profile boxing cards. In Britian, as elsewhere, the virus has left a preternaturally cutthroat group of veterans scratching their heads, wondering what’s next.

In a recent interview with the British magazine Boxing News, promoters Kalle Sauerland, Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren and Mick Hennessy described how the global pandemic has impacted their business.

Leaders in the art of fabrication, few of them could find a way to put a positive spin on the news. For once, they admit to being in a state of helplessness. 

“We’re not ‘in the know’ of anything,” said Sauerland, who had to postpone the March 21 World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight final bout between Mairis Briedis and Yuniel Dorticos. (The new date has been tentatively scheduled for May 16.)

“We don’t know anything about timelines, we don’t know anything about restrictions or the different kind of restrictions,  so we will continue being experts at what we do, but we will be under the guidelines of authorities, local and international.

“We have to look at the policies of different governments, but they’re not all aligned. … That makes it even more complicated, especially when when you run an international operation. So, for us, we are bound to what the experts are telling us because we’re not experts in this field. And I think any promoter giving any other advice, apart from talking about left hooks and uppercuts, should stick to their own business.”

Like Top Rank’s Bob Arum, Hearn is exploring the possibility of staging fights closed off to the public but admits that such endeavors come at a high financial cost. Hearn, who promotes shows on both sides of the Atlantic, recently had to postpone the March 28  Josh Kelly-David Avenesyan bout in London and the April 17 Regis Prograis-Maurice Hooker bout in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

“We are certainly open to events behind closed doors, but the bigger events are always dependent on the revenue generated at the box office,” Hearn said. “There are plenty of moving parts, but we are thinking on our feet to make sure our fighters are taken care of and the public safety is of course considered.”

Said Hennessy, the former promoter of Tyson Fury: “The whole situation is crazy, it’s on another level. I’ve never experienced anything as potentially devastating to boxing in all my career. There is no insurance to cover us for this. We’ve made lots of plans and payments.”

Of all the promoters it was Warren, the oldest of the group, who sounded the most distraught.

“When you think about it, our industry is in trouble,” Warren said. “The boxers don’t get a wage. Unlike footballers, they get paid when they fight. So if they don’t fight, they don’t get a wage.

“All I care about is the long-term health of the sport, and at the moment, that’s at a risk. The TV companies make money by showing sport on their channels, but they’ve got no sport to show at the moment. Those same TV companies bring a lot of money into boxing, so it’s quite challenge to say the least.

“We don’t know what we’re dealing with here.”

Season 3 of WBSS to start in ‘September, October’

The World Boxing Super Series will return for a third season later this fall, according to WBSS organizer Nisse Sauerland.

The third season of the World Boxing Super Series has a working date, but the weight classes are still up in the air.

Nisse Sauerland, who runs the WBSS with his brother Kalle, told FightHubTV at the Caleb Plant-Vincent Feigenbutz post-fight press conference in Nashville that he expects the next installment of the tournament will begin in the last quarter of the year.

“We’re gearing up for season three, which will start September, October time,” Sauerland said.

The season two cruiserweight finals between Yunier Dorticos and Mairis Briedis has been set for March 21 in Riga, Latvia.

Sauerland, however, wouldn’t tip his hand as to which weight classes they would be concentrating on for their next installment. 

“Me and my brother have sort of given up calling weights,” Sauerland said. “Because whenever (somebody says), ‘ah, that would be a great weight, middleweights,’ then suddenly loads of things happens and it just doesn’t become possible. It’s just like a dream that doesn’t come true.We’ll start calling that closer to the time. Boxing can change very quickly.”

Sauerland says he expects to finalize which weight classes will be featured in the next season by “May, June time.”

As for the weight classes that he’s most personally keen on, Sauerland cited a few.

“Lightweights would be great. There’s a lot of weight classes I like at the moment,” he said. “Middleweight, super middles again. Lots of interesting weights out there.” 

Since its inception in 2017, the WBSS has been heavily lauded for finding a way to get the best fighters to face each other in an otherwise fragmented sport beleaguered by internal politics. Cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk and super middleweight Callum Smith were anointed as the winners of the first season. Last year, the WBSS crowned Josh Taylor and Naoya Inoue as (partially) unified titleholders in the junior welterweight and bantamweight tournaments, respectively.