Britain’s Conor Penn will return to the World Boxing Council’s world rankings following the body cleared him of intentional doping and said his “extremely high consumption of eggs” was a plausible explanation for his failed doping tests last year.
The positive results of finding “minuscule amounts of a fertility drug” led to the cancellation of an upcoming fight at an agreed weight between British welterweight Ben and his compatriot Chris Eubanks Jr last October.
The WBC said in a statement that Ben’s team this month submitted a detailed report of his diet and nutritional supplement consumption.
The board found no conclusive evidence that Penn, 26, knowingly took the banned substance clomiphene, and there were no procedural irregularities.
The WBC added: “Ben’s documented and very high consumption of eggs during the times associated with the sampling provided a plausible explanation for the result of the analysis.
“The WBC Nutrition Committee will work with Mr. Benn’s team to design a targeted nutrition program to avoid the risk of future negative outcomes caused by nutritional factors.”
The WBC said it would also raise concerns with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regarding clomiphene being a food mix and the possibility of incorrect sample results.
Ben is still under investigation by the British Anti-Doping Agency.
The Briton, whose father Nigel was world super-middleweight champion, gave up his boxing license from the British Professional Boxing Association following Eubank’s bout was cancelled.
