#IMAGES #PHOTOS #Tony #Yoka #swept #Martin #Bakole
Facing Martin Bakole, an opponent ranked above him in the world pecking order, the French heavyweight had the opportunity to take a big step in his career, but was stifled by the power of the Congolese. “Today Martín was stronger, I think everyone could see it”, recognized the Frenchman on the ring, under some whistles from the Bercy spectators. The 2016 Olympic champion now has 11 wins to one loss since he turned pro in 2017.
As expected, Bakole, who has 18 wins from 19 fights, charged into the fight with a rage and Yoka suffered from his incredible power in the first few exchanges. What was not expected, however, is Yoka taking a knee 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 later rounds, but Yoka always seemed to struggle from then on. The 30-year-old Parisian was largely at the midpoint of the fight.
The challenge was to know if the Congolese, more massive but less mobile than the French, were going to go all the way. He seemed to show signs of fatigue, especially in the eighth round, but he managed to resist thanks to his 125.6 kg and his 98 meters, on the contrary, it is the Frenchman (109.6 kg, 2.01 m) who seemed completely sold out on the last round.
Unlike her previous appearances in the ring, Yoka, 15Y World Cup, he was not the great favorite of the evening since he faced for the first time an opponent ranked higher than him (13Y). He had also realized that he was facing the toughest challenge of his career.
With this first loss, he suffered a serious setback in his “conquest” to the heights of world boxing. Now he must fight to find opponents that allow him to get closer to a world belt, his obsession since the beginning of his career.
Coming to the ring at the beginning of the night to see the quick success of his little brother Victor, who was making his professional debut, Yoka lost on points, by a split decision by the judges (96-92, 95-93, 94-94). .
Under the gaze of the 9,000 spectators gathered at the Accor Arena, he could not rest on his technical palette against the most aggressive Congolese. “Time to get back to work, maybe change a few things”analyzed Yoka, world amateur champion in 2015.
At 28 years old, Martin Bakole, the privileged sparring partner of the stars of the premier class, from Anthony Joshua to Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk, can for his part knock on the door of the top of the world thanks to his aggressive and powerful boxing and you will be able to quickly aim for the top 10 of the global leaderboards. “I am very proud. It’s a great fight for me against Tony.”declared.
Even before the announcement of the judges’ decision, the Congolese was sure of his victory.