"I've never seen him so offensive": How Tony Yoka won his comeback fight

Tony Yoka is smiling as he leaves the Adidas Arena at Cinderella time. His last victory, aside from two fights to rediscover his passion for the sport in England last summer, dates back to September 2021, watched by Emmanuel Macron at Roland-Garros. In other words, an eternity ago...

This Saturday, Tony Yoka won almost four years later. He defeated Russia's Arslan Yallyev by unanimous decision (96/94, 98/92, 97/93). "I'm very happy," the Olympic champion said. "I feel like I'm coming out of a very long tunnel in which I felt alone for a very long time. We saw at the end of this fight that I have a big family that has stayed behind me. I was also pleased to be reunited with my fans who have remained loyal to me."

Quite far from the world's top fighters in the category, but tough and solid on his feet, the Russian gave a real fight to the Frenchman, who took some blows but gave more. That's the principle of this game. "He was strong, he's a very good fighter," notes Yoka. "He wasn't a foil that I could have knocked out in the first round. In that case, the crowd wouldn't have accepted it. We put up a good fight and I'm happy."

At ringside, Brahim Asloum, the other French Olympic champion (with Estelle Mossely), also found "his" Tony. "He snatched a tough victory by showing his guts. I've never seen him so offensive, taking so many hits and giving so much. He showed us that he's now letting loose. This fight will do him a lot, a lot of good psychologically." Souleymane Cissokho is also enjoying it. "It was a good comeback fight for Tony," his friend rejoices. "He actually came up against a tough guy, an undefeated boxer. Tony showed a lot of courage. It's really good and good for the future."

This is all that Tony Yoka expected from this evening of his return to the forefront, perhaps the last for a long time in France, as his immediate future is currently focused on England.

Trained in London by Nigerian Don Charles, he signed up with English promoter Frank Warren, who owns one of the finest heavyweight stables in the world. "I hope to fight in two months at Wembley on the undercard of the Uzyk-Dubois fight. There's talk of a fight against Joe Joyce." This Englishman, whom Yoka beat in the Olympic final in Rio, a defeat the Briton never got over. "Here we go again," smiles the delighted Frenchman.

"Tony was under pressure not to lose this fight," Brahim Asloum continued. "He just showed us that he has matured, that things must now move in the right direction. He just showed us that he is solid, that he has not given up, far from it. We must always count on Tony in the years to come. He still has a future." That's all Tony Yoka wanted to hear.