MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP
Tony Yoka, here on the right, suffered another defeat, this time against Belgian Ryad Mehry. Enough to compromise, perhaps, the rest of his career.
BOXING – And to think that he had promised to set the record straight from the first round… While he had to use his fight against Ryad Mehry to get back up after two consecutive defeats, the French boxer Tony Yoka is still inclined, this Saturday, December 9, in a Roland-Garros completely transformed for the occasion.
A third defeat which will further slide the 2016 Olympic champion in the world rankings, he who dreamed of himself, not so long ago, as world heavyweight king. To the point, perhaps, of jeopardizing the rest of his career.
Faced with an opponent chosen to be affordable, Toky Yoka was ultimately overwhelmed in all sectors and lost on points (2 judges at 1, 96-94, 94-96, 96-94). Coming without complexes and pushed by a great colony of supporters, the Belgian Ryad Mehry, although he is much smaller than Yoka (2.01 m compared to 1.81 m), managed to rush into each gap left by the permeable guard of the favorite. The Parisian notably suffered several devastating sequences, notably in the third and fourth rounds, well carried by the Brussels resident with enormous arms.
Unable to raise his level
The Frenchman now has 11 victories for three defeats among professionals, and above all no major coup despite frenzied sponsorship from Canal+ in particular, which has been betting for years on his ” Conquest “.
What is there to think about retiring after such disappointments? “That’s not the question to ask now.”he evaded at the microphone of the encrypted channel, after having already seemed taken aback at the announcement of the judges’ decision.
While he had initially had eleven victories without much impact for his entry into the world of professionals after his Olympic title in Rio, Tony Yoka has since seemed incapable of raising his level and has suffered a series of defeats. In May 2022, he experienced his first setback, soundly beaten by the Congolese Martin Bakole, already winner on points. Then again in March, crushed by the power of 42-year-old French veteran Carlos Takam.
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