Dillian Whyte facing lengthy ban from boxing after 'failed drugs test'
The British heavyweight Dillian Whyte is facing a fight to save his career after reportedly testing positive for a banned substance which would leave him facing an eight-year ban if confirmed.
The 31-year-old Londoner is understood to have returned the positive test, which was conducted by UK AntiDoping, three days before his victory against the Colombian Óscar Rivas at the O2 Arena on Saturday.
When testing agencies take blood or urine from athletes, they split it into A and B samples, with the latter being a smaller amount used for backup, reanalysis or verification purposes.
When told about the initial positive, Whyte asked for his B sample to be tested, as is his right, which would not have been possible until this week. This meant Ukad, the sport’s governing body the British Boxing Board of Control, and the World Boxing Council’s chosen testing body the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency had little option but to allow him to fight.
In a tweet on Wednesday the promoter Eddie Hearn wrote: “Further to reports I can confirm that both Dillian Whyte and Óscar Rivas were subject to extensive Vada and Ukad testing for their bout. Both fighters were cleared to fight by both bodies and the BBBofC.”
This is true but the context to this is that a positive A sample is only the start of a process that may or may not result in an anti-doping sanction. Whyte was hoping to further his claim to a shot at the WBC belt-holder Deontay Wilder, and to prevent him from taking part in a high-profile contest at this early stage in the process would have opened Ukad up to a huge legal risk if he is eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.
Last year, Ukad gave Tyson Fury a backdated two-year ban following a disputed positive test in 2015. The agency could have pushed for a fouryear ban but, having already spent nearly £600,000 in legal fees, it reached an agreement with the British heavyweight.
Ukad has declined to comment on what happens next with Whyte but it is highly likely this case will now be passed to the independent National Anti-Doping Panel.
Whyte has been through this process before, having tested positive for a banned stimulant after his victory against Hungary’s Sandor Balogh in October 2012. That was the ninth successive win of the former kickboxing champion’s boxing career but it was his last fight until November 2014, as he was given a two-year ban.
Whyte’s defence at the time was that he had made a silly mistake by taking a popular and readily available training supplement without checking its ingredients, not an excuse generally accepted by the anti-doping authorities and his appeal against the sanction was rejected.
Now, having already served one sanction, Whyte is facing the prospect of a lengthy ban for a second offence.
Since his comeback, he has fought 18 times, losing only once – against British rival Anthony Joshua in 2016.