Connor Coyle still wants Cash despite Benn controversy!

Connor Coyle is confident he will still get his fight with Felix Cash despite the Conor Benn controversy which saw the entire ‘Born Rivals’ card cancelled at the weekend.

‘The Kid’ was all set to put his undefeated record on the line against Cash in the co-main event at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night and was in his element as he participated in a media day filled with interviews and photoshoots. But last Wednesday, a story broke that Benn, part of the main event with Chris Eubank Junior, had returned "adverse analytical finding" for traces of a fertility drug, and within 24 hours, the fight and the entire card had been pulled.

Describing himself as ‘sickened’ at the time, it was a huge blow for Coyle who has spent two months away from his family ahead of the biggest night of his life.

Recalling that 24 hours he said: “Once we heard the news that Conor Benn failed a drugs test, at first, we didn’t know if they were just rumours, but as the day went on we found out more and more and that it was true. But we were on our way to the public work out so that was still going ahead.

“We thought there was too much invested and too much organised for it to be pulled completely. We heard rumours than that me and Cash would be bumped up to main event because we didn’t feel they would cancel the whole event because we were co-main event as well. That’s what we were hoping for then, but I don’t know what happened then in the next 24 hours, they just came to a decision that they would pull the whole show.

“We’re hopeful that the fight will still happen and hopefully soon enough as well. We just need to hold tight for a week and see what comes of it because DAZN and Eddie Hearn and Matchroom have to put us on a card. I’m just waiting for that phone call and hopefully that date is going to be soon enough.”

Homecoming

Coyle returned home to his family at the weekend, but he does not expect to go too long without a big announcement. He does however take exception to the suggestion from Felix Cash that he no longer has to fight the Derry middleweight.

“You just have to take it on the chin and stay positive, and just know that it’s going to come again soon because it has to,” he continued. “It’s not as if I went in and got beat and it’s over, I’m still ready and I’m still prepared and I’m eager to get in and get a get a good tough fight and get a good win under my belt and start climbing those rankings. That’s still the goal. I still want to fight Cash and I still hope it happens soon enough.

“I have mixed feelings about what Cash thinks. He’s been very quiet and then all of a sudden, the fight is cancelled and he has a tweet up saying he’s gutted but “who’s next?” as if he’s beaten me. I don’t know what to take from that tweet because he still has to fight me and he still has to beat me before he and start asking “who’s next?”. He didn’t go in there and beat me. We still have a contract.”

Coyle is adamant that Matchroom should honour their obligation to him, and having worked so hard to get to tis stage, he’s not going to just walk away.

“They have to hold up their end at some stage in some kind of way, be it having the whole undercard on another show or by having a mix and match on other cards,” he explained. “As long as they get each and every person who was on the undercard a fight as well, and give them their opportunity and get them paid too, that’s the main thing.” 

Hunger

While the controversy over Conor Benn’s future will rage on, Coyle is focused on what is next for him, and having experienced London and everything that goes with a big fight night, he is even more driven to prove that he belongs at this level.

“I want this fight, I want a big fight, I don’t want to be going back and taking a fight just for the sake of it,” he insisted. “I went through this high-profile fight week in London and I don’t want to go back now and just take on a fight just to keep me going. I want a high-profile fight, I want to be on a big televised fight, a pay-per-view fight; I want to keep this hunger, this motivation and drive going forward now. It’s a completely different switch in my brain once I got into this kind of fight at this high level rather than just going out to take a fight to build up my record and keeping the wins coming. I need a big high-profile fight which has bigger risks; it’s bigger risks for bigger rewards.

“I breezed through the whole media week with loads of interviews and photo shoots. I just breezed though it as if I belonged there because this is what I’ve worked for. It just felt as if I’ve been there for the last 10 years. I know that’s where I belong an that’s where I should be and that’s where I should stay now.”

A lot of big-name boxers and former boxers have had their say on the Benn controversy, and Coyle is in with the majority that feel that intentional drug cheats should face a long ban.

“If you are caught taking something then you should be punished,” he agreed. “I heard it could be a four-year ban and that’s a long time in boxing because your career would be over after four years; that’s basically banning you for life really. I don’t see someone coming back strong after four years off. If you are intentionally taking drugs and they know exactly what they’re doing, then they should get banned immediately.

“I do know people can take something and not know there’s something in it, be it a paracetamol or an Ibuprofen or amino acids or something, something that they didn’t intentionally take to enhance their performance. People take stuff for recovery or to help them get through training sessions and they don’t know what they have taken and it can show up in a positive dope test. But if you are intentionally injecting yourself with something or intentionally taking PED capsules or something to boost your performance, I believe you should get a ban right away.

“No-one knows the full story; he could genuinely be telling the truth so I’m not going to hold it against him as of now until the full story comes out. I still want to get my piece and my part on what should have been a great night of boxing.”

Coyle is already back in the gym, and it should not be too long before his team make their next big announcement.

“I want to stay where I’m at now,” he reiterated. “This is where I should be and this is where I belong. I was sharp, my mind was sharp and my thinking straight and I was in my element because this is what I’ve worked so hard for my whole life. It was my opportunity and I was going to grab it with both hands, only for it to taken from me. I’m just going to stay positive I’m going to keep training, I’m back in the gym with Cahir, so I’m not going to dwell on it too much, it will happen again soon. I have a good feeling before the end of this year anyway.”