Helenius could fight next time in the fall of 2025 at the earliest. The 40-year-old boxer does not yet know how to assess the continuation of his career.
According to the information obtained by , a heavyweight professional boxer Robert Helenius40, is about to receive a two-year suspension for a doping violation.
The British anti-doping organization UKAD (UK Anti-Doping) and the Finnish Professional Boxing Association decide on the ban.
On August 11, 2023, Helenius gave a doping sample containing the drug clomiphene in London. The test was taken the day before Helenius and Anthony Joshua match between
UKAD states in the document seen by that Helenius explained that clomiphene got into his system via eggs. However, Helenius was unable to provide sufficient evidence of the origin of the prohibited substance.
UKAD does not claim that Helenius is guilty of intentional use of doping substances. If intentional use was proven, Helenius’ ban could increase to four years.
According to the Finnish Professional Boxing Association, Helenius would be eligible for the next match on September 18, 2025 at the earliest. The ban applies to fighting as a professional boxer and appearing as a competitor in any martial arts, even in exhibition matches.
In addition to its own assessment, the Finnish Professional Boxing Federation mirrors both UKAD’s decision and Suek’s statement. The association also states that the competition ban is in line with previous doping crime sanctions imposed in Finland.
– The Finnish Professional Boxing Association considers that Robert Helenius has presented reasonable grounds for the possibility that the prohibited substance found in the sample he gave has ended up in his system unintentionally and without his knowledge, the association’s statement says.
There is no common international actor in the doping control of professional boxing. The Finnish Professional Boxing Federation, the issuer of Helenius’ match license, follows the mutual agreement of the European Boxing Association (EBU): when a member country bans a licensed athlete, it applies to all member countries.
Helenius tells that he still denies the use of doping, but accepts the verdict.
– I deny it with all my heart, yes.
– Even though it is hard to say that the non-compete had to be established, I have to say that I understand the decision in the sense that there must be some kind of sanction. Otherwise, everyone could say that the positive result came from somewhere else, says Helenius.
Helenius’ manager Markus Sundman says that he is upset about the situation. The Helenius camp had to catalog all the athlete’s eating for a period of two months retroactively.
– It is difficult to find a sadder situation. For an athlete, this is total chaos.
Currently recovering from neck surgery, Helenius is already 40 years old, but does not want to make a final decision about the continuation of his boxing career yet.
– I have to see how it feels when I get to do the first harder training session. I am in a positive mood and would like my career to continue.
For Helenius’ personal trainer For Johan Lindström no trustee ban has been requested.