England-based Nigerian-born heavyweight boxer, Lawrence Okolie’s management has come out with an official statement that they are awaiting ‘further updates’ after the former world cruiserweight champion reportedly failed a drugs test.
Sports247 gathered that the statement came after news emerged that the 33-year-old Okolie had failed a doping test ahead of his heavyweight clash with Tony Yoka in Paris, France this Saturday.
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Okolie had been billed to face the French 2016 Olympic Games gold medallist, but that date is bound to be cancelled, thereby becoming a major setback for the former champ, who has soared surprisingly since stepping up into the heavyweight class.
Okolie, who won the WBC bridgerweight crown in 2024 and was also the WBO cruiserweight champion from 2021 until 2023, aspired for a world heavyweight title shot by notching a routine win over Ebenezer Tetteh last December.
He is still WBC Silver Heavyweight champion and was seeking another stepping stone through Yoka at Adidas Arena this weekend; with another Nigerian-born boxer, Adam Olaniyan facing Alex Kmet on the undercard in another heavyweight bout.
The statement by Queensberry promotions 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.”
