I Didn’t Use Any Performance-Enhancing Drug Before My Fight Vs Anthony Joshua – Robert Helenius

Finnish professional boxer, Robert Helenius has been handed a two-year ban from boxing. This is coming after his positive drug test following last year’s fight against Anthony Joshua, and fans have been reacting.

Robert tested positive for clomifene after being knocked out by AJ at London‘s O2 Arena in August 2023, and it is a banned substance because it can be used to boost testosterone levels in men.

Helenius attempted to plead his innocence by claiming that the clomifene in his system must have originated from his consumption of eggs and chicken meat, but it fell on deaf ears.

UK Anti-Doping had this to say, “Mr Helenius 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.”

He responded, “I want to say something very clear in my own words right now with absolutely no exception. I did not use any performance enhancement now or ever. I have been tested my entire career.

I was just told that I tested positive for the presence of a non-steroid substance in my system and I wanted to send an immediate direct message to Anthony Joshua and boxing fans that I didn’t cheat and never would.

I volunteer to work with VADA and the BBBofC to do whatever it takes to clear my name.”

WOW.

Anthony Joshua, OBE (born 15 October 1989) is a British professional boxer who is a two-time unified heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles since December 2019 and previously between 2016 and June 2019. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2014 to 2016.

Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born on 15 October 1989 in Watford, Hertfordshire, the son of Yeta and Robert Joshua. His mother is Nigerian, while his father is of Nigerian and Irish ancestry. Joshua’s Nigerian background can be specifically traced back to the Yoruba people, amongst whom he is of aristocratic rank.

His cousin, Ben Ileyemi, is also a professional boxer. The pair made their professional debuts together in 2013. Joshua spent some of his early years in Nigeria as a boarding school student at Mayflower School in Ikenne.

Following his parents’ divorce when he was 12, he returned to the UK halfway through Year Seven to join Kings Langley Secondary School. Growing up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire, he was called “Femi” by his friends and former teachers, due to his middle name, Oluwafemi. He excelled at football and athletics and broke his school’s Year Nine 100 m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.