Dillian Whyte: Deontay Wilder calls boxing a ‘dirty game’ after rival’s drugs test scandal

British heavyweight boxing was rocked this week when it was reported that Whyte, the mandatory challenger for Wilder’s WBC title, had tested positive for one or more banned substances

Deontay Wilder has described Dillian Whyte’s alleged failed drugs test as further evidence that boxing is a ‘dirty game’ and has called on authorities to hand the Londoner a significant ban.

British heavyweight boxing was rocked this week when it was reported that Whyte, the mandatory challenger for Wilder’s WBC title, had tested positive for one or more banned substances in a test conducted by Ukad prior to the ‘Bodysnatcher’s’ victory over Oscar Rivas at the weekend.

Whyte has countered that he beat the Colombian fair and square after being cleared to fight and says he is disappointed by the ‘rubbish’ which has since emerged.

But Wilder, who visited the fabled Fitzroy Lodge boxing club to meet some of its young boxers on Friday, believes Whyte is bang to rights. He was also horrified that details of the drugs test were not disclosed to Rivas or his team prior to the fight.

The Jamaica-born 31-year-old has already served a two-year ban during his career but insists he only ingested the banned substances after drinking an over-the-counter energy drink called Jack3d.

And Wilder said: “It’s very wrong. Even if they had a tiny bit in your body, it shouldn’t be in your body, period. If it was only a tiny little bit, how much did you really have in your system? You were cycling and you probably miscalculated the cycling.

“These guys become very smart. You’ve got to remember this is his second offence. What is he going to blame it on this time? Energy drink!? I can’t wait to hear the excuse. Right now they’re just trying to build an excuse.

“It’s just disgusting that Rivas’ team not to know. I think it’s the worst time for this information to come out because we’ve had two deaths in boxing. This is an emotional sport so they’re connected to these deaths and these fighters. This is a reality check, we’re risking our lives.

“Sometimes I think ‘what are these fighters thinking putting these drugs in their body?’ There are side effects – like the rage and being angry all the time. I also know that when they take it they are trying to advance to the top. But don’t cheat your way to the top. Some people will do anything to support their family. This is a dirty game right here.

“If you look at a six-month ban, that’s just regular protocol. Most fighters fight from three to six months, that’s regular protocol. So banning someone for six months, that’s no justice.

“You’ve got to give them a stiffer ban and if they do it three times, then they should be banned for life. That’s how I look at it.”

Whyte is one of a number of leading heavyweights to have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and Wilder has been linked with offenders in the past.

Whyte faces an uncertain future following the drugs test (PA)

A money-spinning clash with Alexander Povetkin fell out of bed back in 2017 due to the Russian testing positive for meldonium while Wilder last year beat Luis Ortiz, who failed a 2017 test for the banned diuretics chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide.

But Wilder said: “I have nothing to prove. What I do has been consistent, over and over again, I’ve proved what I’m capable of doing without using PEDs. I’ve been tested over 20 times this year so, let the good times roll, I don’t have to worry about that.

“In my mind it doesn’t matter who my mandatory is to be honest. This is boxing, they may pull a trick out of the hat and nothing happens and he still is the mandatory. I can’t worry about what I can’t control. I have had many ups and downs in my career due to guys testing positive for PEDS. I’ve lost a lot of money about it so it’s a very touchy subject for me. But I also understand I can’t control these situations so anything I can’t control I don’t waste any energy on it.”

Wilder also predicted that Anthony Joshua will lose his planned rematch Andy Ruiz Jr unless he takes a warm-up bout first.

Joshua was relieved of his WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles by the unheralded Mexican-American at Madison Square Garden on 1 June when he was stopped in the seventh round of their bruising contest.

Wilder was expected to fight Whyte in 2020 (Getty)

The London 2012 Olympic champion is set to exercise the rematch clause in their initial fight contract with the pair set to clash once more before 2019 is over.

But Wilder has backed Ruiz to cause the upset for a second time because Joshua still cannot work out why he lost.

“I feel he should get a warm-up,” Wilder said. “It’s going to be very hard for him now because he doesn’t even know why he lost.

“He doesn’t even know what shots hit him. He went back to his corner and said ‘what did I get hit with?’ That’s the wrong questions to ask. When you’re a champion, you’ve got to learn on the job.

“Throughout my whole career, I had to learn on the job, from the Olympics, professionally, I had to learn on the job.

Wilder was criticial of Joshua's defeat by Ruiz (Getty)

“I can’t blame it on his experience because every time you see him, he’s working out. He’s got all these people with him. He should be at the top of his game and he shouldn’t be going back to his corner and saying, ‘what did I get hit with?’

“It’ll be a lot easier for me to beat him now. I’ve been saying it for a while, Joshua’s mindset is not as strong. He is not that strong, he doesn’t have confidence in himself. He says he started lifting weights because he did not have confidence in himself. He had low self-esteem.

“But looking the part and looking like you can do something does not mean you can do it.”