Written by Editor’s note: This new version of Junkie Drawer will be a vehicle to report the news of the day in bite sized portions.
Did Conor Benn simply eat tainted eggs?
The British welterweight has been reinstated by the WBC, which ruled that the consumption of eggs might’ve caused his failed drug test before his scheduled fight against rival Chris Eubank Jr. last October.
Benn had trace amounts of the fertility drug Clomiphene in his system. Clomiphene, which can raise testosterone levels, evidently is sometimes used to increase egg production in hens.
The WBC said in a statement: “Mr. Benn’s documented and highly-elevated consumption of eggs during the times relevant to the sample collection raised a reasonable explanation for the adverse finding.”
The Benn-Eubank fight was canceled and Benn was removed from the WBC rankings. The son of former champion Nigel Benn was reinstated as a result of the sanctioning body’s latest ruling.
“The WBC shall include Mr. Benn in its ratings during the period immediately following the issuance of its ruling,” the statement read. “Mr. Benn’s position in the WBC Ratings shall be based solely on his merit and the customary factors the WBC Ratings Committee apply to rating boxers.”
Benn also lost his boxing license in the U.K. after his failed test. He reportedly has yet to regain it pending further investigation.
***
Ryota Murata, the 2012 Olympic champion from Japan, said he’s retiring from boxing at 37 years old.
Murata won the middleweight gold medal in the London Games to cap a long amateur career in which he reportedly had a record of 119-18, making him a star in his native country.
He went on to have a successful professional career, becoming a contender only a few years after making his debut.
Murata hit his peak when the WBA elevated him from “regular” to “super” champion after Canelo Alvarez vacated the sanctioning body’s actual championship.
The Tokyo resident tried to unify but was stopped in nine rounds by Gennadiy Golovkin last April in Saitama. That was his most recent fight.
“Inside my head I’m thinking, ‘That was my last [fight],’” Murata said, according to Kyodo News. “I just haven’t been able to announce it [until now], but that’s how I’m thinking personally.”