Manny Pacquiao's manager explains why he gives Conor Benn "benefit of the doubt" in doping scandal

Manny Pacquiao's manager, Sean Gibbons, is willing to give Conor Benn the benefit of the doubt.

'The Destroyer' has been on the sidelines since last October. During fight week for his return against Chris Eubank Jr., the welterweight tested positive for Clomifene. The substance is banned as a performance enhancing drug due to its ability to mask prior steroid usage.

Over the following months, the Brit stated his innocence. For their part, the WBC cleared Benn last month, stating that his positive test was due to the high consumption of eggs. However, as the BBBoC were the ones to hand down the suspension, the star is unable to fight in the U.K.

However, Conor Benn recently stated his plans to forgo any future fights in the country and fight elsewhere. It seems that his next matchup could come against a legend. Earlier this week, Manny Pacquiao's manager, Sean Gibbons, recently teased that 'PacMan' could end his retirement against Benn.

During an interview with FightHype, the manager explained why he was okay with the fight happening despite the test failure.

“All I can say is it’s confusing. I don’t know about the 270-page report, I don’t know about the eggs, whatever, but I know the man was cleared and I got to give the benefit of the doubt, because I had a fighter, Orlando Salido, they said he tested positive for Nandrolone. I know Orlando Salido never did a thing in his life. So when something like this happens and they have a study and they look at it, I give the guy the benefit of the doubt.”

See his comments below:

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Conor Benn admits suicidal thoughts after positive test

Months on from his positive tests, Conor Benn is trying to clear his name.

Last month, the welterweight star was "cleared" by the WBC, but that frankly means very little. While the council accepted Benn's explanation in a lengthy report, they're not a drug testing agency.

The only figure that matters right now when it comes to clearing 'The Destroyer' is the BBBoC. To this point, they've declined to do so, and stated that Benn will be suspended until they've seen evidence that he accidentally ingested clomifene.

In an interview with Piers Morgan, Conor Benn discussed the WBC clearing his name and the whole process over the last few months.

"I didn't think I was going to make it through this period. I felt like I was on death row for something I hadn't done… I was taking it day by day. I didn't think I'd see another day. Yeah [I was suicidal]."