The scheduled heavyweight bout between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte has been called off.
According to Matchroom Boxing, Joshua’s promoters, the decision was made after a “random anti-doping” test on Whyte returned “adverse analytical findings”.
The promotion said the test was carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), and the result has been shared with the Association of Boxing Commissions and the British Boxing Board of Control.
BREAKING..more updates to follow shortly. pic.twitter.com/cnKFqYgIVV
Advertisement— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) August 5, 2023
“In light of this news, the fight will be cancelled, and a full investigation will be conducted,” the statement reads.
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Joshua and Whyte had been scheduled to fight at London’s O2 Arena on August 12.
The bout would have been a new chapter in their lengthy history of rivalry.
The duo fought in 2009 as amateurs, and Whyte beat Joshua by decision.
The British-Nigerian, however, exerted revenge in 2015 and defeated Whyte in the seventh round to claim the British heavyweight title.
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The latest development is the third time Whyte will be linked to a doping violation. He was sanctioned with a two-year ban from 2012 to 2014 for taking an illegal supplement and was charged with using a banned steroid in 2019, but UK Anti-Doping dropped the case because the level of the substance was very low.
Joshua, who defeated Jermaine Franklin in April to win his first fight in two years, is expected to face another fighter as a replacement for Whyte.
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