Tony Yoka beaten by Martin Bakole at Paris-Bercy, halt in the “conquest”

He expected the toughest fight of his career, he was served. Tony Yoka knelt down and suffered his first professional defeat against Congolese Martin Bakole on Saturday night in front of 9,000 spectators at the Accor Arena.

Opposed to an opponent better ranked than him in the world hierarchy, the French heavyweight had the opportunity to take a major step in his career but he was stifled by the power of the Congolese, 13th in the world. “Today Martin was stronger, I think everyone could see it,” admitted the Frenchman, who now has eleven wins for one defeat since his move to the pros in 2017.

Yoka knelt down at the end of the first round. The Frenchman was counted out, shook his head and then got up to fight again. The debates were somewhat balanced in the following rounds but Yoka always seemed in difficulty thereafter.

More massive but less mobile than the Frenchman, Bakole (125.6 kg for 1.98 m) seemed to show signs of fatigue, especially in the eighth round, but managed to resist. On the contrary, it was the Frenchman (109.6 kg for 2.01 m) who seemed completely exhausted in the last round. The Parisian, 15th in the world, lost on points, by split decision of the judges (96-92, 95-93, 94-94).

” Go back to work “

With this first defeat, the 2016 Olympic champion suffered a serious setback in his “Conquest” towards the heights of world boxing. He will now have to fight to find opponents allowing him to approach a world belt, his obsession since the start of his career. “It’s time to go back to work, maybe change some things,” he said.

The evening was also the scene of the second pro fight for Frenchman Sofiane Oumiha, silver medalist at the Rio Olympics, who is also aiming to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Oumiha won on points against another tricolor, Mevy Boufoudi, who was undefeated in eight fights so far in the lightweight category.