Eddie Hearn’s swift action to pull the plug on Dillian Whyte’s fight with Anthony Joshua is a step in the right direction after Conor Benn debacle
When Dillian Whyte previously appeared to have failed a drugs test his opponent was not told before climbing into the ring. Oscar Rivas was duly knocked out.
A few months and much legal wrangling later Whyte was exonerated, but that did little to pacify his opponent on the night.
Since then we’ve been through the eternal Conor Benn farrago but at least, however reluctantly, Eddie Hearn pulled the plug on his fight with Chris Eubank Jnr.
Now the Matchroom promoter has acted with commendable speed despite grating inconvenience to his marquee asset Anthony Joshua at the abandonment of his vital warm-up next Saturday for a Saudi oil bonanza.
Exactly who will pay the price for Whyte’s adverse finding will likely take ages to resolve. But the prompt action taken is a step in the right direction for boxing as it grapples with an escalating drugs problem.
Dillian Whyte returned ‘adverse analytical findings’ in a pre-fight Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) drug test
Anthony Joshua vs Whyte II has been cancelled but Mail Sport understands Matchroom Boxing are looking at bringing in a new opponent for AJ
A statement released by VADA revealed that a ‘full investigation’ would be taking place
Anything less than instant clarity about Whyte would have dragged the game deeper into the drugs mire. Whyte might find it more difficult to disentangle himself from VADA’s positive testing a second time. There is increasing public anger against such matters being dragged to protracted resolution via obscure technicalities.
Drugs expose boxing, above all sports, to the dangers of permanent damage to health and even death.
Hopefully the swift action in regard to Whyte is a sign that, at last, the wake-up calls are being heard.
Finding a substitute opponent for Joshua for a night that was already a hard sell for Whyte would not offset the bulk of the financial losses.
