'I was really mad, he messed up' - Yoka reflects on Okolie positive drugs test

After stringing four back-to-back wins, Yoka was rewarded with a meeting against former cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie in Paris. 

A win for Yoka, in front of what would have been an electric atmosphere in the French capital, would have put him in contention for a world title challenge with Okolie being the WBC's silver champion at heavyweight. 

However, with just four days to go until the opening bell, disaster struck. After Okolie failed a PED test, the contest was cancelled, and Yoka's chance to assert himself onto a busy heavyweight top table had vanished. 

'I was really mad at Lawrence because he messed it up'

For any fighter, an opponent failing a drug test so close to fight night is a serious kick in the teeth. 

"I was mad at him because I wasn’t the mandatory, so that fight was a really good opportunity for me," Yoka told DAZN News when reflecting on the news of Okolie's positive PED test. 

"I was really mad at Lawrence because he messed it up."

Within hours of the news becoming public, Okolie took to social media and cited treatment for an elbow injury as the reason as to why PEDs were found in his system. 

For Yoka, this excuse was simply not enough, and he could not believe that Okolie failed to tell the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) about what substances he was taking. 

"We’re being tested three times during the camp and on the night of the fight.

"Everything you take, you have to tell them. When you take paracetamol, you tell them, so how can you take something like this and forget to say?"

The reason why fighters decide to play with fire and take PEDs is to gain an unfair advantage over their opponent. 

This was a feeling reiterated by Yoka, who claims Okolie was not confident when trying to beat him on a level playing field. 

"I think Lawrence was not feeling comfortable; he was not confident enough to fight me fair and square.

"I’m not asking myself why he did it; he just did it. Now he’s saying it was because he’s injured, I don’t care."

While Yoka is still dealing with the fallout from Okolie's positive PED test, he is preparing for his first fight of 2026 against Murat Gassiev on July 11. 

Yoka will be attempting to dethrone Gassiev in Russia to become the new WBA 'regular' heavyweight champion, but if the opportunity came long to face Okolie in the future, the Frenchman would be interested, albeit on one condition. 

"If he cleans up, then I would fight him."

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