- Robert Helenius has been suspended from boxing for two years for a doping offence
- Helenius tested positive for clomiphene after fighting Anthony Joshua last year
- The heavyweight claimed that the substance entered his body through eggs or meat.
Robert Helenius has been handed a two-year ban from boxing as a result of his positive drugs test following last year’s fight against Anthony Joshua.
The 40-year-old heavyweight, who was 39 at the time of the AJ fight, tested positive for clomiphene after being knocked out at London’s O2 Arena in August 2023.
Clomiphene is banned because it can be used to increase testosterone levels in men.
Helenius attempted to defend his innocence by claiming that the clomiphene in his system must have come from eating eggs and chicken meat.
However, a statement issued by UK Anti-Doping on Friday said: ‘Mr Helenius was unable to provide any evidence that the eggs and chicken meat he had consumed before the fight came from hens that had been given clomiphene.
Heavyweight Robert Helenius has been banned from boxing for two years for a doping offence.
Helenius was last in action in August when he fought Anthony Joshua (right) at the O2 Arena.
‘Therefore, Mr. Helenius was unable to identify the source of clomiphene in his sample and therefore was unable to reduce the applicable two-year period of ineligibility.’
The ban will last for two years from 18 September, when Helenius was provisionally suspended.
He will therefore be allowed to return to the sport after midnight on 17 September 2025.
Helenius responded to Friday’s verdict by issuing a statement of his own.
He said: ‘I want to say something very clearly in my own words right now, without any exception. I have not used any performance enhancers, not now or ever. I have been tested throughout my career.
Joshua defeated Helenius by knocking him out in the seventh round in their fight in South London.
After that fight, Helenius took a drug test and his urine sample came back positive.
‘I have just been told that I have tested positive for the presence of a non-steroidal substance in my system and I wanted to send a direct and immediate message to Anthony Joshua and boxing fans that I did not cheat and I never would.
‘I volunteer to work with VADA and BBBofC to do whatever it takes to clear my name.’
