He is back ! The wait will have been long. It’s been ten months since Tony Yoka set foot in a ring for an official fight after his defeat against Martin Bakole. But this time, the Frenchman is ready to fight again. The task will not be easy: for his return, he has chosen the experienced Carlos Takam.
“I want to come back with a great victory. Not just a victory, but a victory with style, ”said the French heavyweight when putting on the gloves. “I can’t wait to rebox. I want to show that I worked, that I had a defeat, of course, but that I can bounce back from that. »
Last stage of mourning
At 30, the 2016 Olympic champion, who now has a professional record of 11 wins in 12 fights, still believes in the title of world champion, even if his defeat on points ten months ago against the Congolese Martin Bakole had marked a big setback in his conquest of the heights of boxing.
At Bercy, on May 14, Yoka had been overtaken by the power of his opponent after kneeling on the ground in the first round.
Fallen from his pedestal, the hero of the Rio Olympics has kept a low profile, cutting with sport time to rebuild. He claims today to have “completely digested” this defeat. “The last stage of this mourning will be Saturday,” he says.
” It will hurt ! »
To start again, Yoka could have chosen an opponent with a modest pedigree, but it is against the experienced Carlos Takam, (39 wins for 7 losses and a draw) that he will appear in the Zénith ring. .
“I didn’t want to come back with a little fight. I wanted to come back with a strong fight and I think that’s the case. »
At 42, Takam remains on two defeats, one on points against the Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov last September, and a loss against the Englishman Joe Joyce by stoppage of the referee on the 6th recovery, in July 2021. But before that , the native of Douala in Cameroon has fought the gratin of the category, from Anthony Joshua to Alexander Povetkin or Joe Joyce, and he still represents a reference and a danger for his opponents.
The lion is not finished
“I’m going to tire him out, the little youngster, he thinks the old lion is finished? No I’m still here,” Takam promised during the pre-fight press conference. “The veteran, he is still young in spirit and there, it will hurt. »
The two men know each other well since Yoka served as Takam’s sparring partner for a long time before turning professional.
“Tony often says ‘Carlos, he’s my big brother. I respect that but in the ring, I’m not going to take him as a little brother, I’m going to take him as an opponent.