On Wednesday, it was officially announced that heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte would return to the ring on December 7th, as part of the undercard to the highly anticipated rematch between Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.

Whyte will enter the ring against Polish veteran Mariusz Wach. Their bout was initially scheduled to take place in 2017, but Whyte withdrew with a foot injury.

For Whyte, it's his first bout since a decision win over unbeaten Oscar Rivas back in July at the O2 Arena in London.

There was controversy in the aftermath of the Rivas bout, after it was revealed that Whyte had an adverse result in a June drug test administered by UKAD [UK-Anti Doping].

Whyte and his handlers were not advised of the adverse finding until July 17, only three days before the Rivas bout.

There was a hearing held with the National Anti-Doping Panel on the morning of the fight, and Whyte was cleared to move forward with the Rivas contest. Rivas and his handlers were unaware of the testing issue, or the private hearing, until several days after the fight was over.

However, UKAD continued to investigate the findings of Whyte's June test - which prompted the WBC to suspend the British boxer's status as mandatory challenger to world champion Deontay Wilder.

If UKAD announces a favorable ruling, the WBC will reinstate Whyte as mandatory challenger. But, the sanctioning body recently announced that Tyson Fury would overstep him as mandatory, and Whyte - even with a favorable ruling - would have to wait until 2021 for his title shot.

While the situation with UKAD is being sorted out, Whyte is free to continue his career. He was never suspended by UKAD or the British Boxing Board of Control. Both Whyte and Rivas passed the drug tests administered by VADA as part of the WBC's Clean Boxing Program.

Whyte's promoter, Eddie Hearn, admits that he's frustrated with the ongoing wait for UKAD's decision.

"He is not suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control or UKAD and he has a career," Hearn said to BBC Sport.

"He needs to fight. This is his career, his livelihood, his job and what he does. We are still waiting for UKAD to give their official synopsis of the event but he's had his hearing [back in July], he is cleared to fight. It would be ridiculous of him to wait while there is no reason for him to wait.

"It's not a game. It's not about chess moves. We went through the correct process. We had a hearing with the National Anti-Doping Panel [in July] and they cleared Dillian Whyte to box. If you have a problem with that show me another decision but make sure it's the right one.

"We can't wait, wait, wait. We saw Ryan Martin banned for a fight that took place last November. These processes are taking too long. Whyte had his hearing [in July] and has been cleared. If you have something to say, let's hear it but in the meantime let Dillian continue his career."