Dillian Whyte

Whyte was cleared by UKAD last week after initially being charged by the body for testing positive for a banned substance.

The 31-year-old was provisionally stripped of his WBC interim title and status as mandatory challenger to champion Deontay Wilder after beating Oscar Rivas on points in July.

Whyte maintained his unbeaten record with a defeat of Mariusz Wach on the undercard for Anthony Joshua's successful rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and has now had his mandatory status reinstated.

The promoter's call comes in the wake of Whyte being cleared by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) after initially being charged by the body for testing positive for a banned substance.

After beating Oscar Rivas on points in July, Whyte was provisionally stripped of his WBC interim title and status as mandatory challenger to champion Wilder by the sanctioning body.

However, the Briton was on the undercard for Anthony Joshua's rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. and, ahead of Saturday's victory over Mariusz Wach, UKAD announced he had been absolved of any wrongdoing.

The Briton beat Oscar Rivas on points in July but was later stripped of his WBC interim heavyweight title and status as mandatory challenger to champion Deontay Wilder by the sanctioning body.

That came after it was reported the 31-year-old had tested positive for a banned substance before the bout in a test administered by the UK Anti-Doping Agency.

However, he is clear to fight in Saudi Arabia on December 7 against Poland's Wach.

Whyte climbed off the canvas to beat Oscar Rivas on points 10 days ago and earn his shot at Wilder.

But the victory was plunged into controversy last week when it was reported the 31-year-old was positive for a banned substance before the bout in a test administered by the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD).

Promoter Eddie Hearn stated Whyte was cleared to fight by UKAD, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) and the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA), which also tested both boxers in the build-up to the contest.

Whyte landed the WBC interim heavyweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Rivas in London on Saturday.

But Boxing Scene reported on Wednesday that Whyte had "tested positive for one or more banned substances" prior to the fight, which was allowed to proceed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC).

Whyte's promoter, Matchroom's Eddie Hearn, said in a short Twitter statement that Whyte was cleared to fight following "extensive" testing before the bout by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) and UK Anti-Doping (UKAD).

The 30-year-old has been touted as a potential 2019 opponent for IBF, WBA and WBO belt-holder Joshua, though WBC champion Deontay Wilder is his priority for an April 13 fight at Wembley.

Whyte beat former WBO champion Joseph Parker last July to enhance his claim for a title shot and he insisted it is inevitable he will get another chance to take down Joshua, who won their previous encounter with a seventh-round knockout in December 2015.

Whyte appeared to be in line to face one of the leading names in the decision after defeating Joseph Parker, but Fury and Wilder are both now otherwise engaged after agreeing to face each other, most likely in Las Vegas in either November or December.

The Jamaican-born fighter has repeatedly taken to his social media pages in recent days to criticise the duo, however, prompting a response from Fury when he posted a video on Instagram on Sunday of a mock kiss between the former unified world champion and WBC title holder Wilder.

As a combination, the two heavyweights put on a show worthy of topping the pay-per-view bill at the O2 in London, their contrasting methods meshing together in a way that left the outcome always in doubt right through to the closing seconds.

Now, though, they will head in different directions. It was billed as a must-win for both; triumph and a world-title shot was an apparent certainty - lose and risk falling out of the picture, at least for the foreseeable future.

Home favourite Whyte dropped his opponent twice but had to climb off the canvas himself in the 12th round, forcing him to hold on for the final bell to secure a unanimous points decision in a pulsating main event at the O2 in London on Saturday.

However, while all three judges were in agreement over the winner, scores of 113-112, 115-110 and 114-111 demonstrated the close nature of the bout.

Parker told Whyte to expect "less movement" and "more punches" in their bout at the O2 Arena, which could see the winner land a world title fight.

Brixton's Whyte dismissed the claim, warning the former WBO champion that "if he comes to fight like he says, he gets knocked out".

"Let's see what he brings," the 30-year-old said.

"I've been in the game long enough to know talk and action are two different things," Whyte, who knocked out Australia's Lucas Browne in his most recent outing, said.