Julius OkorieClose to one year after his fight against Nigerian born British boxer, Anthony Joshua, Finnish heavyweight boxer, Robert Helenius, has been banned from professional boxing for two years.
Helenius had initially been suspended from boxing after testing positive to performance-enhancement substance, clomifene. Recall that Joshua knocked out the 40-year-old Finish boxer in the 7th round of the bout at the London’s O2 Arena in August 2023.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Uk Anti-Doping Agency later confirmed finding the chemical substance in Helenius’s body following the defeat.
During the hearing of the failed drug test, Helenius said he was innocent as he claimed that the clomifene which was found in his body was from eggs and chicken meat he ate before he faced Joshua, unfortunately the Finnish-Swedish boxer a total of 37 fights,32 wins with 21 wins by knockout and five defeats, could not prove his innocence before the Anti-Doping body.
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The agency said: “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.”
Hence, he was banned from the sport for two years. The ban starts counting from September 18, 2023 (the date he was first suspended) to midnight of September 17, 2025.
Helenius turned pro in 2008 to fight for Germany’s Wilfried Sauerland. In 2009 Helenius knocked out former British heavyweight champion Scott Gammer and defeated Taras Bidenko with a third round stoppage.
Meanwhile who last fought in February with an easy win over Francis Nagnnou has revealed he is now looking towards September for a possible next fight.
“I was hoping to get out on this card,” Joshua said, reported BoxingScene . “A rest ain’t good. Get out, get active. We’re young, we keep firing away. But, unfortunately, I didn’t get this opportunity. They’re talking about September 21 [for my next fight], so in the back of my mind I’m getting ready.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
