British boxer Lawrence Okolie vows to clear his name after failed drugs test

The world heavyweight title contender Lawrence Okolie has pledged to “clear my name” after a failed a drugs test before his bout against Tony Yoka this weekend.

The British fighter, a former cruiserweight world champion who moved up to heavyweight, had been scheduled to face the Frenchman in Paris on Saturday but that event is now in doubt. He is the No 1-ranked contender by the WBC, whose belt is held by Oleksandr Usyk.

In an announcement, the promoter Queensberry wrote: “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. A further update regarding the event will be made it due course.”

In a personal post on Instagram, Okolie wrote: “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.”

Okolie’s intended opponent Yoka took the super-heavyweight gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He served a one-year ban imposed by the French anti-doping agency in 2018 for failing to give a doping sample three times in a one-year period.