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Paris (AFP) – French heavyweight Tony Yoka will face Congolese Martin Bakole in his 12th professional fight on May 14 in Bercy, his broadcaster Canal+ announced on Tuesday.
The Olympic champion (2016) was originally scheduled to face Bakole on January 15 in Bercy but the meeting was postponed due to the return of the gauges related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After this time, Yoka, undefeated in 11 outings (9 wins before the limit), had agreed to challenge Croatian Filip Hrgovic in an IBF world semi-final, but the body finally considered that Yoka remained committed to a fight against Bakole.
« We didn’t want to miss this chance to become the official challenger of the next winner of the fight between Alexander Usyk and Anthony Joshua but the Bakole clan came forward to the IBF saying that they had a valid contract to face Tony. The IBF rule is simple: if a boxer is already engaged in another fight or injured, he is considered unavailable “, explained to AFP Jérôme Abiteboul, the promoter of the French.
Bakole will still be a very good test for Tony Yoka (29 years old), who has not fought since September 10 (a victory against the Croatian Peter Milas by knockout in the 7th round) and aims to one day become world champion of the queen category.
The Congolese (28 years old) is ranked 18th by the reference site BoxRec (Yoka is 19th) and has experienced defeat only once in 18 appearances in the ring (13 KO).
« This is a world-class opponent, which ultimately corresponds to the plan that should lead Tony to a world final, indicated Jerome Abiteboul. This will take us to a 13th fight, definitely a world semi-final. We are always in the times of passage ».
Bercy will also be the scene of the great professional debut of French lightweight Sofiane Oumiha. The Olympic silver medalist (2016), a two-time amateur world champion but returned unscathed from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, will have to fight with his compatriot Mevy Boufoudi.