Eddie Hearn, promoter for two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, explained what transpired in the last few days with respect to Dillian Whyte's most recent drug testing scandal.

Whyte was scheduled to face Joshua in a rematch this coming Saturday night in London. The fight was called off last Saturday, when Hearn and Joshua received the news that there were "adverse findings" in Whyte's drug testing protocol with VADA.

Joshua, after reviewing the test results with his team, immediately told Hearn to cancel the fight.

Whyte has since been replaced by Robert Helenius.

"I was on East Coast time away [on vacation] and I was made aware at 8PM, about to go for a bite to eat, again East Coast time... it was 12:00, 12:30, 12:45, whatever it was, Saturday morning UK. I hadn't seen the email [from VADA], but I had a WhatsApp from Shaun Palmer, our head counsel. And he said that we need to speak urgently or something like that. I speak to Shaun... 'Dillian Whyte has failed a drugs test.' I'm like 'what!' He said 'have you seen the email?' I went to the email, the results are there," Hearn explained to Boxing Social.

"After what happened with the Conor Benn situation, you become emotionally numb in those situations. You've been through them before and nothing can really hurt you or break you, you just have to find a way to go 'f------ cheers, thank you very much, are you really doing this to me again? Yes you are, f--- you, let's go to work.' And obviously the first thing that you have to do in that situation is speak to everybody involved. 

"The most important thing was to speak to Anthony Joshua and say 'where's your head at?' I didn't want to tell him a 1 in the morning, because I didn't want to affect his sleep. But when I woke up, I had a message from AJ, because I was 5 hours behind. He had found out, been told. He said that 'I'm really disappointed for Matchroom and all the work that you've put into this show.' And I said 'don't worry about us, you've put 12 weeks in. You've been training harder than you've ever trained in your life and made unbelievable sacrifices. What do you want to do?' And his response was "I want to fight, get me in a fight.'

Hearn, due to legal reasons, is unable to reveal the exact substance(s), the date of the drug test(s) or any information in connection to Whyte's VADA tests.

"We've been notified as well, by Dillian Whyte's legal team, that the information from the test is confidential. And I can't put myself in a position to breach that information and also, it's his fight now. He's got to be given the opportunity to save his career and to go through this process. I'm sure that [test] information will leak out there, I'm sure that it will get out from Dillian or whatever, but it won't be coming from me," Hearn explained.

Veteran reporter Dan Rafael recently reported on social media that Whyte had failed "multiple tests" in the VADA protocol. Hearn was unable to confirm or deny the information.

"Again, all part of the testing procedure that you're going to hear from Dillian Whyte. But what I can tell you is, that we received the information on Saturday morning," Hearn said.

This is the third drug testing scandal in Whyte's career. He was banned for two years in connection to a positive drug test in 2012, and he also tested positive for a banned substance in 2019 but was ultimately cleared of those charges by UKAD.