British heavyweight Lawrence Okolie has failed a doping test ahead of a fight with France’s 2016 Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka in Paris this weekend, promoters Queensberry said.
The Briton has been hoping for an eventual shot at the WBC heavyweight belt as the number-one ranked fighter behind Ukraine’s world champion Oleksandr Usyk and Germany’s interim belt holder Agit Kabayel.
“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,” they said in a statement.
“A further update regarding the event will be made in due course.”
Okolie, 33, a former world champion at bridgerweight and cruiserweight for the WBC and WBO respectively and who also competed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, said the failed test was the result of treatment for an injury.
“Before anyone starts imagining the worst, following my bicep injury last year, I sustained an elbow injury on the same arm during this camp,” he said on social media.
“I had a treatment on it and now we are here. I truly hope sense prevails. I will of course be fully co-operating with all relevant authorities and I’m confident any investigation will clear my name.”