For the time being, former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua’s return to the ring has been cancelled. Opponent Dillian Whyte is not allowed to compete after a positive doping test
The return of former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, to the ring has been cancelled for the time being. The fight against fellow Briton Dillian Whyte, scheduled for 12 August in London, has been cancelled after his opponent tested positive for doping.
This was announced by the promoter Matchroom after a corresponding notification by the responsible anti-doping agency. As ESPN reports, a replacement opponent for Joshua is to be found within a week.
Meanwhile, the 35-year-old Whyte maintained his innocence. “I am shocked and devastated,” Whyte wrote on Twitter. He only found out about the positive test on Saturday morning, he added: “The fight was cancelled without me having the opportunity to prove my innocence. “
Whyte plans to challenge the test result. “This is not the first time I have been reported positive for a substance I did not take. Like last time, I will again prove that I am completely innocent,” he said.
Joshua opponent Whyte implicated in doping affair for third time
After Whyte’s June 2019 win over Oscar Rivas, a supposedly positive test by the Briton had turned out to be faulty. The British Anti-Doping Authority cleared Whyte a month later.
But this is actually the third time Whyte has been embroiled in controversy over allegations of taking performance-enhancing drugs. After a victory in October 2012, he tested positive for a banned stimulant. As a result, he was handed a two-year ban.
The rematch with Whyte, whom Joshua had defeated in 2015, had been scheduled after protracted talks for a fight against WBC champion Tyson Fury fell through.
It was only in April that Joshua had beaten US American Jermaine Franklin on points in a build-up fight, but he was far from the dominance and ease of earlier days.
He lost the WBA, WBO and IBF belts to the Ukrainian Alexander Usyk in 2021, and a few months later he also suffered a bitter defeat in the rematch. Joshua currently has 25 wins in 28 professional fights.
