EXCLUSIVE: A formal appeal has been lodged against the ruling that allowed Conor Benn to return to the ring after two positive drug tests

A formal appeal was filed last month against the ruling that cleared the way for Conor Benn to return to the ring after two positive drug tests.

Multiple sources have told Mail Sport that both the UK Anti-Doping Team and the UK Boxing Board of Control have exercised their right to challenge the independent national anti-doping body’s decision.

Benn faced a possible two-year ban from the sport, but he appeared to have picked up a crucial victory in July when the NADP ruled in his favour.

Although the reasons for this decision were not made public, Mail Sport understands that the NADP hearing did not include an examination of the scientific evidence behind why clomiphene was found twice in the fighter’s body in 2022. Benn’s team has not argued in court amid the confusion the ruling caused, but that conflicts with sources who claim it focused heavily on UKAD’s inability to rule on samples collected by the Voluntary Anti-Doping association were collected.

As a consequence of the ruling, UKAD announced last month that they would lift Benn’s temporary suspension. Now that they’ve appealed, it’s unclear if Benn will go ahead with his fight plans before a definitive outcome. Mail Sport reckons the appeal process could take around two months.

Meanwhile, Benn could theoretically fight, being licensed in the US, and could choose to test the board’s stance with an application to box in the UK with international papers.

Benn has denied any wrongdoing.

Conor Benn must appeal the decision that allowed him to return to the ring