Lawrence Okolie has pledged to clear his name after a failed drugs test led to the cancellation of his heavyweight bout against Tony Yoka, scheduled for this Saturday in Paris. The British former cruiserweight world champion, now competing in the heavyweight division, was set to face the Frenchman in a highly anticipated clash.
The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) informed promoter Queensberry of the adverse finding, prompting the cancellation. Queensberry stated: 'Last night Vada informed Queensberry that Lawrence Okolie returned an adverse finding following an anti-doping test conducted ahead of the show. A further update regarding the event will be made in due course.' The promoter later added: 'Due to circumstances outside of our control, Queensberry and Dazn have regrettably made the decision to cancel this Saturday’s scheduled event in Paris.'
In a personal post on Instagram, Okolie explained: 'Before anyone starts imagining the worst, following my bicep injury last year, I sustained an elbow injury on the same arm during this camp. I had a treatment on it and now here we are. I truly hope sense prevails. I will of course be fully co-operating with all the relevant authorities and I’m confident any investigation will clear my name.'
The Tuesday press conference in Paris to promote the bout was cancelled at the last minute before the fight was also called off. Okolie is the No 1-ranked contender by the WBC, whose belt is held by Oleksandr Usyk.
Yoka, who has a professional record of 15 victories and three defeats, won super-heavyweight gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He served a one-year ban imposed by the French anti-doping agency in 2018 for failing to provide a doping sample three times in one year.
