BRITISH heavyweight Dillian Whyte had been charged with an anti-doping violation earlier this year but UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) confirmed on Friday (December 6) that the charge had now been withdrawn.

UKAD said that Whyte co-operated with their investigation after a test taken on June 20 detected the presence of two metabolites of a steroid. They subsequently accepted his explanation and have cleared him.

In a joint statement with Whyte, UKAD said: “Having rigorously scrutinised and investigated the detailed factual and scientific evidence provided by Mr Whyte, UKAD is satisfied that the presence of the very low amounts of metabolites in his June 20 2019 sample was not caused by any fault, negligence or wrongdoing on Mr Whyte’s part and, given the circumstances, could not have affected the fight between Mr Whyte and Mr Rivas on July 20 2019. Indeed, prior to that fight, an independent tribunal considered a number of [factors] before deciding to permit Mr Whyte to participate. Following that preliminary ruling, UKAD continued its investigation and Mr Whyte provided further evidence in his defence, which has culminated in UKAD’s decision to withdraw the charge.”

Whyte is boxing in Saudia Arabia this Saturday (December 7). He meets Mariusz Wach on the Anthony Joshua undercard.

UKAD’s statement can be read in full here