British boxer Lawrence Okolie has returned an adverse finding in a drugs test just days before his scheduled heavyweight fight against Tony Yoka in Paris. The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) informed Queensberry, his promoter, of the result on the eve of the bout.
Queensberry released a statement confirming the development, saying: 'Last night, VADA informed Queensberry that Lawrence Okolie returned an adverse finding following an anti-doping test conducted ahead of the show in Paris this Saturday. A further update regarding the event will be made in due course.'
Okolie, a former cruiserweight and bridgerweight world champion, was set to face Yoka at heavyweight on Saturday evening. Both boxers competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, with Yoka winning gold at super-heavyweight and Okolie leaving without a medal. Okolie later became world champion at cruiserweight before losing to Chris Billam-Smith three years ago.
He then captured the WBC bridgerweight title by knocking out Lukasz Rozanski and had stopped his previous three opponents before agreeing to the Yoka fight. When the bout was announced, Okolie expressed confidence in his move to heavyweight, stating he felt at his best and most comfortable in the division.
