Heavyweight Robert Helenius banned from boxing

Finnish boxer, Robert Helenius has been banned for two years over his positive drug test.

After last year’s fight with Anthony Joshua, Helenius tested positive for clomifene in a UK Anti Doping test.

The 40-year-old boxer, who was 39 at the time of the fight, was knocked out at London’s O2 Arena in August 2023.

Pleading his innocence, Helenius, who was earlier on suspension, claimed that the clomifene found in his system must have originated from eggs and chicken meat he consumed before the match.

However, the UK Anti-Doping agency, in a statement released on Friday, stated that “Mr Helenius was unable to provide evidence that eggs and chicken he had consumed in advance of the bout originated from hens that had been administered clomifene”

“He was therefore unable to identify the source of clomifene in his Sample and therefore unable to reduce the applicable period of Ineligibility of two years,” it added.

The ban will be valid for two years from September 18, 2023, when Helenius was provisionally suspended.

He will return to the sport after midnight on September 17, 2025.