The Aug. 12 rematch between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte is off after the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association announced irregularities in Whyte’s pre-fight drug screening.
“In light of this news, the fight will be cancelled, and a full investigation will be conducted,” promoter Eddie Hearn said in a statement.
The statement did not indicate what irregularities existed in Whyte’s drug test. Whyte, 35, was looking to avenge his 2015 TKO loss to Joshua, who himself is attempting to rebuild his reputation after a pair of losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
It’s possible Joshua’s team will attempt to find an opponent on short notice to fight next Saturday. Filip Hrgovic vs. Demsey McKean and Johnny Fisher vs. Harry Armstrong fights were also filled as part of a heavyweight-filled card.
Whyte failed two previous drug tests, one coming in 2012 after his fight against Sandor Balogh and another in 2019 after the second following a win over Oscar Rivas. He spent more than two years out of the ring over the first drug test; the second came back inconclusive, and Whyte was able to get back in the ring five months after beating Rivas.
Joshua is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jermaine Franklin in April. A victory over Whyte could have gotten Joshua back into the heavyweight championship picture after he dropped the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles to Usyk in 2021.
Usyk is set to fight Daniel Dubois later this month.
