Finland’s heavyweight boxer, Robert Helenius, has been handed a two-year ban by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) following Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) for the presence and use of a prohibited substance.
The violations pertain to Clomiphene, discovered in Helenius’s sample from a voluntary drug test conducted on Friday, August 11, 2023, a day before his boxing bout with Britain’s Anthony Joshua.
The match, held at the London O2 Arena on Saturday, August 12, 2023, saw former heavyweight world champion Joshua defeat Helenius with a seventh-round knockout.
Helenius, now 40, claimed the Clomiphene in his system might have come from consuming “eggs and chicken”. However, UKAD stated that Helenius was unable to provide proof that “the eggs and chicken meat he had consumed in advance of the bout originated from hens that had been administered Clomiphene”. Consequently, UKAD noted, “Mr Helenius was therefore unable to identify the source of Clomiphene in his sample and therefore unable to reduce the applicable period of ineligibility of two years”.
Helenius’s provisional suspension began on September 18, 2023, meaning he has already served 10 months of his ban. Accordingly, his period of ineligibility will expire on September 17, 2025
