Saturday 7 December 2019 07:24, UK
Dillian Whyte has been cleared by UK Anti-Doping.
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The British heavyweight has maintained his innocence amid claims of an "adverse finding" surrounding his points win over Oscar Rivas in July, and UKAD have now completely ruled out any wrongdoing by the 31-year-old.
A statement from UKAD read: "UK Anti-Doping and the professional boxer, Dillian Whyte, can today jointly confirm that Mr Whyte was charged with an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) earlier this year, but that this charge has now been withdrawn.
"The charge was brought after a sample provided by Mr Whyte on 20 June 2019 indicated the presence of two metabolites of a steroid. UKAD initiated an investigation with which Mr Whyte cooperated fully. UKAD has accepted the explanation provided by Mr Whyte and, in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules, the charge against Mr Whyte has been withdrawn.
"This would ordinarily mean that UKAD would not make any public statement, in accordance with the applicable confidentiality rules to which UKAD is subject. However, since certain confidential information relating to this matter (including the fact of the initial charge) has unfortunately made its way into the public domain, UKAD and Mr Whyte have agreed to take the unusual step of releasing the following limited information to put an end to speculation concerning Mr Whyte's status.
"In respect of Mr Whyte's drug testing results, the following points are relevant:
• There is nothing in Mr Whyte's longitudinal urinary profile to suggest that he has used steroids.
• The levels of the metabolites found in Mr Whyte's 20 June 2019 sample were extremely low.
• Mr Whyte had provided a urine sample to VADA on 17 June 2019, i.e. 3 days before his 20 June 2019 sample, which was tested by a WADA-accredited laboratory and which returned a negative result, including for the metabolites in question.
• Mr Whyte provided several other doping control samples to UKAD and VADA between 20 June and 20 July 2019 (i.e. the date of his fight with Oscar Rivas) - all of which also tested negative.
• In light of the above points, the trace amounts of metabolites found in the 20 June 2019 sample are consistent with an isolated contamination event, and they are not suggestive of doping.
The news comes 24 hours before Whyte fights Mariusz Wach on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr, live on Sky Sports Box Office, with main event ring-walks set for 8.45pm.
Whyte's status as mandatory challenger for defeating Rivas had been suspended by the WBC, but the governing body has suggested he could receive a guaranteed WBC title shot by February 2021, if the situation was resolved.
Watch Ruiz Jr vs Joshua 2 on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, from 5pm. Book it via your Sky remote or book it online here. Even if you aren't a Sky TV subscriber you can book and watch it here.
