Okolie fails doping test, show in Paris canceled

British heavyweight Lawrence Okolie (23-1, 17 Kos) failed a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) drug test, five days before his fight against Tony Yoka (15-3, 12 KOs) so the entire show in Paris scheduled for Saturday was canceled. Queensberry Promotions said that despite attempts to find replacement for Okolie, it was not possible and entire card was canceled. Following Queensberry's statement, the Brit said in a post on Instagram: "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 we are here. I truly hope sense prevails. "I will of course be fully cooperating with all relevant authorities and I'm confident any investigation will clear my name. "I won't be making any further comment at this time. Thank you for all your support and see you soon." Okolie is the WBC’s No. 1 contender for Ring, IBF, WBA and WBC champion Oleksandr Usyk, who will defend his crowns against Rico Verhoeven in the main event of a Ring-sponsored card May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza, just outside of Cairo, Egypt. Yoka is not ranked in the top 15 by the WBC. Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs) holds the WBC interim title. A WBC super welterweight title eliminator between Queensberry’s new acquisition, French contender Bakary Samake (19-0, 11 KOs), and Albania’s Ermal Hadribeaj (22-0-1, 8 KOs) was the scheduled co-feature on the Yoka-Okolie card. Irish heavyweight prospect Adam Olaniyan was announced as a late-notice addition to the bill last weekend.