Dillian Whyte: British heavyweight passed all Vada tests for Oscar Rivas bout
- Published
Whyte beat Rivas on points at London's O2 Arena
Dillian Whyte passed all tests with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) in the build-up and aftermath of his bout with Oscar Rivas.
The British heavyweight, 31, tested positive for a banned substance with UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) in the run up to his points win over Rivas on 20 July.
He was notified of the test on 17 July but cleared to fight by an independent panel on the day of the bout.
Vada conducted multiple clean tests on both fighters from 26 April to 21 July.
Vada operates in boxing and mixed martial arts and requires fighters or promoters to pay for testing for the duration of a fight build-up. It is understood the testing for Whyte's bout with Rivas cost in the region of $28,000 (£23,000).
The organisation is sought out by fighters for additional testing to the work carried out by country-specific agencies such as Ukad.
The Las-Vegas based Vada has earned a glowing reputation in the sport and was responsible for tests which led to the likes of American heavyweight Jarrell Miller and Mexico's Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez facing bans for doping in recent years.
Most recently, Andy Ruiz Jr praised the thorough nature of Vada testing he faced before becoming unified world heavyweight champion in June.
Whyte's failed test with Ukad reportedly took place in late June, around a month before he was notified of findings. Ukad has so far declined to publicly comment on the test and the banned substance has not yet been officially made public.
The fact Whyte was cleared to fight has drawn scrutiny and figures within the sport have questioned why Rivas' team were not informed of the failed test.
The British Boxing Board of Control has responded by underlining its policy of putting its anti-doping procedures, decisions, sanctions and suspensions in the hands of Ukad.
Whyte's promoter Eddie Hearn meanwhile has said despite the adverse finding, his fighter had a contractual right to compete when he was cleared by Ukad hours before the O2 Arena bout.
Whyte served a two-year suspension from 2012 to 2014 for unknowingly taking an illegal supplement - and he could face a ban of several years if he is found to have breached rules again.
So far his only public comment has been via Twitter, where he stated he beat Rivas "fair and square", adding he was "so disappointed with the rubbish that has been said about me".
The WBC have moved to provisionally suspended Whyte's status as the organisation's interim champion and mandatory challenger to champion Deontay Wilder.
The Brixton fighter had been ranked number one by the WBC for over 600 days and will be allowed to present his case to the sanctioning body.
The WBC said on Tuesday: "An 'A' sample Ukad collected from Mr Dillian Whyte in relation with his bout against Oscar Rivas yielded an adverse finding."
It is not yet known when Whyte's 'B' sample will be tested.
Whyte has 26 wins from 27 professional bouts and was in line to face Wilder before 18 May of next year.
- Published7 December 2019
