Lawrence Okolie fails drug test before Tony Yoka fight in late chaos as statement released

Lawrence Okolie has returned an adverse finding on a drugs test plunging his fight with Tony Yoka into chaos on the week of the event.

Okolie was set to meet Frenchman Yoka in Paris this weekend in a huge heavyweight clash with high stakes.

‘The Sauce’ was looking to put himself in the position to try and push for world honours in the coming months.

But his bid has been thrown up in the air after it was revealed that Okolie has failed a drugs test.

Queensberry Promotions released a statement which read: “Last night the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association informed Queensberry that Lawrence Okolie had returned an adverse finding following an anti-doping test conducted ahead of the show in Paris on Saturday.

“A further update regarding the event will be made in due course.”

The bout has been plunged into chaos and could now be in jeopardy.

A dramatic late inquest will likely now be undertaken from all parties.

Okolie is the current WBC silver heavyweight champion, and was set to make his fourth appearance in the division.

The British boxing star has won titles in two weight classes, having reigned as WBO cruiserweight champion for a lengthy period.

But his stint at 200lbs ended after he was beaten in a domestic dust-up with Chris Billam Smith in May 2023.

Okolie then went on to win a world title in the newly formed Bridgerweight division, beating Lukasz Rozanski to capture the WBC belt.

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He has since been on a positive run after bulking up massively to compete in the blue-riband division.

His debut saw him emphatically knock out Husein Muhamad inside one round in December 2024, before outpointing Kevin Lerena eight months later.

Okolie then travelled to Africa where he took on and stopped Ebenezer Tetteh through quickfire fashion in his last outing in December of last year.

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