It was a first loss, and it hurt Tony Yoka a lot. On May 14, 2022, the 2016 Olympic champion faces Martin Bakole at the Accor Arena. The fight against the Congolese, 13th in the world, must be a stepping stone in the quest for the world title of the 30-year-old boxer. But the case turns to Calvary. Stunned by the power of his opponent, Yoka kneels on the ground in the first round before suffering, his face quickly bloodied, in each of the following nine rounds.
But if the fight ended with a victory on points for Martin Bakole, its outcome would have been even more scathing for the Frenchman. In any case, this is what his executioner in May explains in an article in L’Équipe this Friday. “I didn’t want to finish it, loose the Congolese. I saw his kids at ringside. A win on points was enough. »
“He wasn’t ready. I read it in his eyes, saw it in his execution. Nothing was right. No tactical plan”, regrets the Cuban technician who led him to gold at the Rio Olympics, Luis Mariano Gonzalez.
“In front of me, he was lost”
Seven months later, Tony Yoka is still not back in a ring to play another fight. The boxer, who has a defeat in twelve fights, must now revive five years after his first confrontation with the professionals. According to the sports daily, he should put on the gloves in February against an opponent whose identity is still unknown.
“This defeat is perhaps the best thing that could have happened to him, believes his American coach, Virgil Hunter. One false step can destroy a career or boost it. “He will have to progress a lot to reach the heights. In the ring, facing me, he was lost. What he showed had nothing to do with what he thought he was, ”says Martin Bakole, however.