Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte off due to failed drug test
The fight with Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte has been canceled outright due to “returned adverse analytical findings” in one of Dillian Whyte’s VADA drug tests. The bout was originally scheduled to happen on August 12th at the O2 Arena in the UK. Now, the fight is off and Joshua is looking for a replacement opponent.
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte: Not Happening
BREAKING..more updates to follow shortly. pic.twitter.com/cnKFqYgIVV
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) August 5, 2023
According to Eddie Hearn, the promoter for Anthony Joshua, a replacement is being sought out. One option floated by some is Filip Hrgovic, an undefeated heavyweight prospect that would make Joshua the IBF mandatory should he win. But Joshua might not be willing to take that big of a risk.
Joshua, of course, took on Andy Ruiz on short notice after Jarrell Miller failed a drug test in 2019. Joshua lost the fight against Ruiz, which was the biggest upset since Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson in 1990.
This also isn’t the first time Dillian Whyte failed a drug test. In 2012, Whyte was suspended for two years for Methylhexanamine, otherwise known as Ritalin. What Whyte took was not released by WADA. Whyte will likely appeal the finding and submit another test to clear his name.
Circling back to Anthony Joshua, there may be no fight he’d be willing to take on short notice again after the Ruiz fiasco. He also has the option to wait to fight at the January card in Saudi Arabia where the proposed mega card featuring him versus Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury versus Oleksandr Usyk.
If Joshua does not fight on August 12th, it’s likely Filip Hergovich and Demsy McKean will headline the event. Again, that is all conjecture and the situation is very fluid.
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