Eddie Hearn, promoter for heavyweight star Anthony Joshua, was able to save this coming Saturday’s event at The O2 in London – after a positive drug test nearly derailed the entire card.
Joshua was scheduled to fight Dillian Whyte in a rematch.
Last Saturday, Hearn revealed that Whyte was pulled from the fight after “adverse findings” in Whyte’s drug testing protocol with VADA.
Whyte has since been replaced by division veteran Robert Helenius.
Because Hearn was put on notice by Whyte’s legal team, he’s unable to disclose the information contained in VADA’s report on Whyte – including the names of the substance(s).
“I can’t [tell you details from the test]. I’ve been put on notice by his [legal] team as well. And also, it’s not fair of me to come out and start giving you information that I don’t know enough about that might jeopardize this very important moment that’s coming up for him,” Hearn said to IFL TV.
However, Hearn has given praise to VADA for their testing system which flagged the “performance enhancing drug” in Whyte’s system.
“A good thing here, is that the testing that we’ve paid for here – above and beyond British Boxing Board of Control testing – has found that a fighter about to enter a bout has a performance enhancing drug in his system – which is a good thing. We’re all disappointed and gutted that the fight is not happening,” Hearn said.
Additionally, Hearn revealed that Whyte is not currently licensed by the British Boxing Board of Control.
Whyte, who proclaimed his innocence in the current drug testing scandal, will look to clear his name and resume his career in the UK. However, because he’s not a licensed fighter with the BBBofC, even Hearn is unsure of the exact process for Whyte to prove his innocence.
“Dillian Whyte is not licensed by the British Boxing Board of Control. So, what happens now? He has to clear his name, but at the same time he can’t be effectively banned or have his license suspended or removed from the British Boxing Board of Control, because he’s not licensed there. Does that make sense? He needs to clear his name, he’ll want to do that, but I don’t even know the process that you have to go through to do that,” Hearn explained.
“One thing you can’t do is clear your name with VADA, because they are not a disciplinary organization. They are a reporting organization. Does that make sense? So effectively, Dillian Whyte right now can go to another commission and ask for a license or ask for permission to box. I think most off the back of that result, would say ‘we want to have a disciplinary hearing’… I have no idea.”
According to most observers, Whyte will eventually have to deal with the BBBofC and their testing agency UKAD – at least if he wants to fight in the UK.
This is the third drug testing scandal in Whyte’s career. He was banned for two years in connection to a positive drug test in 2012, and he also tested positive for a banned substance in 2019 but was ultimately cleared of those charges by UKAD.