Dillian Whyte will face Christian Hammer on March 17 after being cleared of his failed test.

Whyte has yet to fight since beating Jermaine Franklin in a controversial decision in 2022. He was set to face Anthony Joshua in the summer of last year, only to miss out following a positive test. As such, the boxer was prevented from avenging his loss to Joshua in 2015 when he was knocked out.

That meant Robert Helenius took the fight as Joshua stopped him. The win meant Joshua secured a lucrative fight in Saudi Arabia against Otto Wallin, beating him to face Francis Ngannou in another huge fight. That naturally left Whyte frustrated, given that he had missed out on so many opportunities, especially since his failed test was put down to contamination.

Whyte On Being Cleared

“It’s been really tough, because I knew I was innocent, but then you can’t talk, you can’t say nothing. You have to be professional, trust the process, trust the lawyers and trust the people around you. It’s been tough, but tough times make tough men. First of all, I’m relieved more than anything, but of course I’m angry as well because it’s cost me so much. The most important thing is it cost me the chance to beat AJ. Everything else after that is secondary but you know it’s a mix of emotions.

“I’m angry and I’m disappointed as well because people in this game don’t give you a chance to prove yourself. Everybody is quick to say, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ instead of giving people a chance. I’m not going to lie, it was depressing and I was heartbroken,” Whyte stated 

Hammer is a well-known name. He has faced some of the biggest names in the sport, including Tyson Fury, Alexander Povetkin, Luis Ortiz, and David Price. Despite this, Hammer lost all those fights except for the Price one. His current record is 27-10. His last fight was in 2022 when Joe Joyce knocked him out.

Whyte vs Joshua

Hammer only has one win in his last four bouts, showing he is not in the best form. But Whyte has come up short in big moments when he was expected to win. He was knocked out by Alexander Povetkin, only to avenge that loss in the rematch. Even in his loss to Tyson Fury, White failed to put up any fight, getting stopped in the sixth round when he was strongly expected to deliver. But if he gets past Hammer, Whyte is targeting the Joshua rematch.

“We have unfinished business. I’ll fight him in ten years. Even when I’m old and retired I’ll still want to fight him,” Whyte said

“Yeah, if he is cleared, let’s get it on. I’ll fight Dillian, you know what it is? I just enjoy fighting. I enjoy the lifestyle, it gives me so much purpose in life. So, I’ll fight Dillian, I’ll fight everyone,” Joshua stated