Tony Yoka, 13-3 (11 KOs), has had a curious and undeniably disappointing professional career thus far. The Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist failed to deliver on the hype and hope that the French public had for him because of his amateur pedigree.
Now, after securing back-to-back wins on unconventional cards in the United Kingdom, Yoka returns to his hometown in search of a first win on French soil since 2021, hoping to end a run of three straight defeats in Paris.
Yoka became France’s first and only heavyweight/super-heavyweight gold medallist by defeating Filip Hrgovic in the semi-final and Joe Joyce in the final of the tournament in Brazil nine years ago. He turned professional the following year, expected to replicate his success in the professional ranks and become the face of French boxing.
After 11 straight wins, all seemed to be going as planned for the Parisian until the now well-respected Martin Bakole upset the odds to hand Yoka a first career defeat back in 2022. It’s a loss that has aged well but still caused catastrophic disruption to Yoka.
In 2023, things went from bad to worse for ‘La Conquete’, losing consecutive split decisions to fringe world-level operators Carlos Takam and Ryad Merhy, which crushed France’s dreams of crowning a first heavyweight world champion anytime soon.
Requiring an obvious change, Yoka opted to appoint Don Charles as his new trainer last year. In July and September, he appeared on low-profile cards in Tolworth and Swindon to rebuild some momentum, halting Amine Boucetta and Lamah Griggs in the fourth and second rounds of those respective contests.
With a new man in his corner and two wins under his belt, Yoka is now set to return to Paris in an attempt to silence his doubters in a make-or-break battle with undefeated Russian Arslan Yallyev, 16-0 (10 KOs). This bout serves as the headline attraction of an AllStar Boxing card at the Adidas Arena on Saturday, May 17.
Whilst Yoka was tipped for huge success, his shortcomings should come as no surprise. Anthony Joshua is the exception rather than the rule, sticking out as the only eventual legitimate heavyweight world champion of the last six super-heavyweight Olympic gold medallists (Audley Harrison, Alexander Povetkin, a WBA holder, Roberto Cammarelle, Joshua, Yoka and Bakhodir Jalolov).
However, at 32 years old, there is still time for Yoka to turn his story around and reach the pinnacle of the division. There are still plenty of fights available for him, including a potential rematch of the Rio 2016 Olympic final against the out-of-sorts Joe Joyce.
Yet, those opportunities may no longer be available if Yoka is trumped for a fourth straight occasion on home turf against Yallyev, who has stopped five of his last six opponents ahead of a first fight outside of his native Russia.
