By Le Figaro with AFP
Published yesterday at 11:34 p.m., Updated yesterday at 11:43 p.m.
Merhy puts Yoka in difficulty. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP
The Frenchman lost once again this Saturday evening at Roland-Garros against the Belgian Ryad Merhy.
Tony Yoka definitely can’t do it. After two first disappointments among professionals, the 2016 Olympic champion lost for the third time in a row against a seemingly affordable opponent, the Belgian Ryad Merhy, on Saturday at Roland-Garros.
This new setback marks a halt, perhaps definitively, in the professional career of the French boxer, who fails to raise his level in difficulty. Overtaken in all sectors, Yoka lost on points (96-94, 96-94, 96-94) and now has 11 victories for three defeats among professionals.
Tony Yoka hoped to revive after two first consecutive losses, which had put a brake on his dreams of “conquest” of world boxing. In March, he fell on points against Frenchman Carlos Takam, overwhelmed by the power of the 42-year-old veteran. And in May 2022, he experienced his first setback among professionals, soundly beaten by the Congolese Martin Bakole, also winner on points.
This time, the chosen opponent seemed within his reach. Coming without complexes with a great colony of supporters, the Belgian was offensive, taking advantage of the slightest opening to hurt. Much smaller than Yoka (2.01 m compared to 1.81 m), Mehry rushed into every gap left by the leaky guard of the Rio Olympic champion.
Sans solutions
The Parisian suffered several devastating sequences, notably in the third and fourth round, well carried by the Brussels resident with enormous arms. He was unable to exploit his size advantage against an opponent who was only fighting his third fight at heavyweight after a good career in the lower category.
Since the defeat against Takam, the 31-year-old boxer had changed everything: he left the United States to be closer to his family and is now training in the United Kingdom, in north London. He now plays under the orders of Don Charles, the coach of Daniel Dubois, who recently put world champion Oleksandr Usyk in difficulty.
“There has been so much change, we were aiming for victory, even if it was not a big victory, to move forward,” he declared after the meeting on Canal +. But as against Takam, he seemed timid, unable to change pace to gain the upper hand over his opponent who had control of the ring for most of the ten rounds.
Under the eyes of 2000 Olympic mid-fly champion Brahim Asloum and French rugby internationals Cameron Woki and Gaël Fickou, the match got off to a difficult start, overwhelmed by the vivacity of its rival. He then rebalanced the debates but never managed to accelerate.
In the other fights of the evening, Tony Yoka’s two young brothers, Axel and Victor, won to start the evening, before the Frenchman Voldy Toutin, in the light heavyweight category, won his fight by knockout from the start. first round against Croatian Vladimir Belujsky. At light heavyweight, Dylan Colin retained his title of French champion after a balanced match against Gaétan Ntambwe.
