Heavyweight contender Lawrence Okolie has vowed to clear his name following an adverse finding in a VADA controlled PED test ahead of this Saturday’s headliner against Tony Yoka in Paris, France.
There has been no announcement on whether the scheduled tie between Okolie (23-1, 17 KOs) and Yoka (15-3, 12 KOs) has been cancelled. Queensberry Promotions stated atelier today on their social media channels, “Last night, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (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 posted on his Instagram account following the news of his adverse finding: “Before anyone starts imagining the worst, following my bicep injury last year,” accompanied with a picture of him receiving treatment on his arm. “I sustained an elbow injury on the same arm during this camp. I had a treatment on it and now we are here. I truly hope sense prevails.”
Okolie continued: “I will of course be fully cooperating with all relevant authorities and I’m confident any investigation will clear my name.
“I won’t be making any further comment at this time. Thank you for all your support and see you soon.”
Okolie is currently ranked in first place by the WBC and is the silver title holder. The 33-year-old Londoner had a brief run as the WBC bridgerweight champion ahead of a four fight run as WBO cruiserweight world champion.
Yoka was due to return to Paris having rebuilt his career in the UK following a disastrous period where he lost three fights in a row against Martin Bakole, Carlos Takam and Ryad Merhy between 2022 and 2023, all in the French capital. The Olympic gold medalist returned with two under-the-radar bouts on the British small hall circuit in Tolworth and Swindon. Yoka would return to his homeland to outpoint Russia’s Arslan Yallyev last May, resulting in signing with Frank Warren’s Queensberry. The Frenchman knocked out Patrick Korte inside a round in Nigeria in December.
