Last night in Paris, France, heavyweight Tony Yoka managed to win his third fight on the spin, this after going through a bad three-fight losing streak in 2022/23. Yoka won a ten-round unanimous decision over Russian fighter Arslan Yallyev. The scores were 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94, all for the home fighter. Yoka, who suffered back-to-back losses against Martin Bakole, Carlos Takam and Ryhad Mery, is now 14-3(11). 28 year old Yallyev loses for the first time in going 16-1(10).
Yoka, who absolutely could not afford another defeat, came out fighting with purpose, his combinations being thrown and landed. But the Russian had come to win, not just collect a payday. And by the middle rounds Yallyev began to get to Yoka. Round five saw Yoka take some hurt by way of the Russian’s uppercut, and Yoka’s nose began to bleed.
Yoka digs deep – but controversy follows
Yoka showed heart and real desire over the second half of the fight, and his fans cheered him on. Yoka landed some more combinations in round eight, this perhaps his best round of the fight. By the final round, both men were visibly tired, with both heavyweights breathing heavily. It looked to have been a close fight, yet two of the cards had it wide for Yoka. Once again, unfortunately after a Yoka fight, there was some controversy over the scores.
Where does Yoka go from here?
Some fans feel Yoka received a veritable gift last night, and that despite the win, his career at anything like top level is all but done. 33 year old Yoka, who had never boxed outside France as a pro until the summer of last year, when he came to the UK for two low-key fights, both of which he won by stoppage, has never been able to live up to the promise he showed when winning Olympic gold back in 2016.
It’s unclear where Yoka goes from here, but there could possibly be some interesting fights out there for him, even at this stage of his career. A rematch with Joe Joyce at pro level would perhaps pull in some fan interest, the two having fought at Olympic level nine years ago, with Yoka winning a decision over Joyce in the super heavyweight final in Rio de Janeiro.
