Boxing: Tony Yoka will face Carlos Takam on March 11 in Paris

This is a fight that will make boxing fans salivate. French heavyweight Tony Yoka, who has been out of the ring since losing to Martin Bacole last May, will face veteran Carlos Takam on March 11 in Paris, he told Canal+ on Monday. “He is a very serious opponent, we will say that he is the gateway to the top ten in the world,” Yoka, 30, said of his compatriot.

42-year-old Carlos Takam is a very experienced boxer (39 wins, including 28 to the limit, 1 draw, 7 losses). He has two losses left, one on points to Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov in September last year and a loss to Englishman Joe Joyce due to a referee stoppage on the 6th reinstatement in July 2021.

But the Douala native is still a danger to the best boxers in his category. He fought particularly well in 2017 against Englishman Anthony Joshua, then the WBA and IBF heavyweight champion, and was only defeated in the 10th round when he had only ten days to prepare.

“Showing that the Bakole fight was a mistake”

“He is a very strong opponent, at least in terms of rating and level, potentially the strongest I have ever faced,” said the 2016 Olympic champion, who now has 11 wins, including 9 before the limit, for a loss since his professional debut.

“That’s what the fans expect from me, to come back with a bang, with a big fight and show that the fight against Bakole was a mistake,” he continued. Yoka lost on points to the Congolese on 14 May in Bercy, suffering the first setback of his career.

“After the defeat, I wanted to take time for myself, disappear a little, think about what was, what was not. It took me a while to swallow defeat, to accept it, ”he admitted.