Robert Helenius breaks silence following failed drug test

Robert Helenius has broken his silence after it emerged he recently failed a drug test.

Helenius had returned an ‘adverse analytical finding’ in a VADA drugs test taken the day before his defeat to Anthony Joshua.

In a statement, Matchroom Boxing broke the news: “Today, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) has informed Matchroom and the British Boxing Board of Control that Robert Helenius has returned an adverse analytical finding as part of a random anti-doping protocol.

The heavyweight fighter has proclaimed his innocence in a statement posted on social media, he said,

“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.”