Paris (AFP) – French heavyweight Tony Yoka will face Congolese Martin Bakole for his 12th professional fight on May 14 in Bercy, his broadcaster Canal+ announced on Tuesday.
The Olympic champion (2016) was initially to be opposed to Bakole on January 15 at Bercy but the meeting had been postponed due to the return of the gauges linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After this setback, Yoka, undefeated in 11 outings (9 successes before the limit), 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 to the IBF saying that they had a valid contract to face Tony. The IBF rule is simple: if a boxer is already committed to 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), who has not fought since September 10 (a victory against Croatian Peter Milas by KO in the 7th round) and aims to one day become world champion of the queen category.
The Congolese (28) is ranked 18th by the benchmark site BoxRec (Yoka is 19th) and has only known defeat once in 18 appearances in the ring (13 KOs).
” He is a world-class opponent, which ultimately fits the plan that must lead Tony to a world final.said Jérôme Abiteboul. This will take us to a 13th fight, certainly a world semi-final. We are always in the transition times “.
Bercy will also be the scene of the great professional debut of French lightweight Sofiane Oumiha. The Olympic silver medalist (2016), double amateur world champion but returned empty-handed from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, will have to do battle with his compatriot Mevy Boufoudi.