Heavyweight contender Lawrence Okolie was given the news last week that he returned an ‘adverse finding’ by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) ahead of his scheduled headliner against Tony Yoka last Saturday in Paris.
Okolie (23-1, 17 KOs) and his promoter Queensberry were quick to address the situation in posts on social media. Following the news, Okolie had said on his Intsagram, “ 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.” Shortly after the statement, Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions swiftly canceled the whole event.
Okolie’s trainer Joe Gallagher has broken his silence on the matter.
“I was shocked on Tuesday morning getting a phone call and then a text from Simon Jordan,” Gallagher said in an interview with Boxing Now. “I was like ‘I found out five minutes before you.’Listen, I’m in huge shock, I still am. It just doesn’t feel quite so real.”
The former cruiserweight and bridgerweight world champion is currently ranked in first position by the WBC for Oleksandr Usyk’s world championship. Okolie was due to defend his WBC silver title in the French capital.
“I see people saying that he’s popped and this and that,” Gallagher explained. “I just thought to myself… One, we are not about that in this gymnasium! Lawrence Okolie isn’t about that, and for him to be on steroids or whatever it is, well there isn’t a muscle on him. And two, there isn’t a bit of anger in him. So, he must have bought some dud steroids or something, because there wasn’t working on him.
“It’s down to him now to go away, sort it out and get back in the gym as fast as possible. I think this can be resolved very quickly.”
