Two Year Doping Ban: Top Heavyweight Who Fought Anthony Joshua And Deontay Wilder Gets Two Year Doping Ban
In recent times, Anthony Joshua has been scheduled to fight or has faced three opponents who have tested positive for banned substances.
First was that of Jarrell Miller in 2019, who was set up to welcome Joshua to the US. He tested positive for various substances and was subsequently replaced by Andy Ruiz Jr, the man who handed the Brit his first loss.
Miller was banned for the offence for six months before testing positive again and being suspended for two years. He returns to the ring to face Ruiz himself on August 3.
Joshua was working on a comeback last year following two losses to now-undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, and part of those plans was a rematch with Dillian Whyte.
The heavyweight rivals had previously fought for the British title back in 2015, but Whyte tested positive for a banned substance and was immediately pulled from the second fight. An investigation later concluded this was due to a contaminated supplement.
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Joshua would knock out late-replacement Robert Helenius in seven rounds. The Finnish fighter tested positive in a UK Anti-Doping Agency post-fight test.
In a statement released by UKAD, it has been confirmed just under a year later that Helenius will serve a two-year ban despite claiming ‘eggs and chicken meat’ were to blame for the presence of Clomiphene – a defence familiar to British boxing fans from the Conor Benn case for the same substance, which remains ongoing.
“Mr Helenius stated that the clomifene detected in his urine Sample must have originated from his consumption of eggs and chicken meat. However, following a request by UKAD, Mr Helenius was unable to provide any evidence that the eggs and chicken meat he had consumed in advance of the bout originated from hens that had been administered clomifene. Mr Helenius was therefore unable to identify the source of clomifene in his Sample and therefore unable to reduce the applicable period of Ineligibility of two years.”
Helenius, speaking to Yle, said he continues to deny the offence ‘with all his heart.’
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“Yes, I deny it with all my heart. Although it is tough to accept that a suspension had to be imposed, I have to say I understand the decision in the sense that there needs to be some kind of sanction. Otherwise, anyone could claim that a positive result came from somewhere else.”
Helenius, 40, says he intends to continue his career – something he can’t do until September 17 2025. His record is paused with two brutal stoppage losses from his last three fights having been knocked out in the first round against Deontay Wilder in 2022.
