The August 12th heavyweight rematch between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte has been cancelled because of “an adverse finding” from a drug test.
The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) shared the result of the drug test with the boxing promotion company Matchroom and the boxing authorities this weekend.
According to a BBC report, the test result indicted Dillian Whyte which means that the British heavyweight boxer has been disqualified from the bout which was initially bid to take place at London’s O2 Arena about a week from now.
a statement from Matchroom led by Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, reads, “In light of this news, the fight will be canceled and a full investigation will be conducted”.
Since Whyte is no longer qualified to fight Joshua or any other boxer pending the outcome of the investigation, the Nigerian-born British boxer might still fight on August 12 if another opponent is found on time.
Recall that Dillian Whyte has been looking forward to a rematch with Anthony Joshua after their first professional bout in 2015 which Joshua won. In July 2023, the bout was finally confirmed.
Before the 2015 professional bout, the British fighters faced each other at the amateur level in 2009 and ever since then, they have been seen as rivals.
While Joshua has gone on to become a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympics gold medalist, Dillian Whyte has had only one shot at the world championship which was against Tyson Fury in 2022. But lost the match as expected.
