DILLIAN Whyte can continue his career after being cleared by an investigation into a positive drugs test, according to a report from Sky Sports.
Brixton’s Whyte, 35, returned adverse findings before his scheduled fight against Anthony Joshua last August, but the investigation concluded that the result had been caused by a contaminated supplement.
Whyte previously served a two-year ban from 2012 to 2014 after he innocently took the common gym-goer supplement Jack3D, which he didn’t know was banned in professional boxing.
“It’s been really tough, because I knew I was innocent, but then you can’t talk, you can’t say nothing,” Whyte said on Sky Sports. “You have to be professional, trust the process, trust the lawyers and trust the people around you. It’s been tough, but tough times make tough men.
“First of all, I’m relieved more than anything, but of course I’m angry as well because it’s cost me so much. The most important thing is it cost me the chance to beat AJ. Everything else after that is secondary but you know it’s a mix of emotions.”
Whyte revealed investigators tested 45 products he had used as he was preparing for the fight.
Whyte said: “I’m not going to lie, it was depressing and I was heartbroken. When you know you’re innocent and it’s not some bull**** story. When you’re going through everything and spending loads of money and time, losing sleep and thinking about it constantly. What did I do? Where did I eat? Where did I go?
“I was in Portugal, America, I was in the UK, I was all over the place. I was in London for the press conference. I was trying to piece together everything and trying to break everything down and going over it, over and over again. What did I eat that was out of the normal? What did I drink? Where did I eat? Where did I go? It was just depressing. It was like ‘Groundhog Day’ every day, going over it, over and over. Trying to piece things together and then everything was coming up blank.”
Whyte is looking for damages from the US manufacturer of the supplement.
He said: “One thing I’ve learned because of the things going on around me, discipline is the only way in life you’re going to get forward and sometimes you’ve just got to keep your mouth shut, do a thorough process and break things down and go through things clearly so we can find what needs to be found.
“I would just like to thank everyone who has stood by me and supported me during this process and look forward to getting on with my career.”