Tony Yoka struck a blow by leaving no chance to his compatriot Johann Duhaupas, Friday at the Paris La Défense Arena.
The fight between the two heavyweights, which lasted only 30 minutes, was stopped on the first restart by the referee.
French heavyweight Tony Yoka knocked down his compatriot Johann Duhaupas, arrested by the referee on the first round, for his comeback on the rings after a year of absence, Friday at the Paris La Défense Arena.
The Olympic champion (2016), who is now unbeaten in 8 fights (including 7 wins before the limit), had not fought for a year and a success against the German Michael Wallisch, September 28, 2019.
Yoka started very strong, imposing his entry power before knocking his opponent down on a succession of straight lines.
After a first run on the mat, Duhaupas returned to it a second time on a devastating uppercut from Yoka, forcing the referee to cut the proceedings short after just 1 minute 30. Yoka, who was arguably facing his most serious opponent since joining the professionals in 2017, took the opportunity to put things straight after long months of verbal jousting with Duhaupas.
VICTORY of @TonyYoka against Johann Duhaupas!
# YokaDuhaupas # LaConquetepic.twitter.com / 9pcZtgST1z
- CANAL + Boxe (@CanalplusBoxe) September 25, 2020
Yoka relaunched in his "conquest"
The 28-year-old Frenchman, launched in a "Conquest" very scripted by Canal + supposed to lead him to the world title, will thus be able to resume his march forward, his objective now being to chain the fights in order to possibly have a chance global end of 2021.
For Duhaupas, aged 39, the 6th defeat of his career (for 38 victories including 25 before the limit) may be the end of a journey marked in particular by a title of champion of France (2013) and two honorable defeats against two references in the premier class, the American Deontay Wilder, one of the most powerful hitters on the planet (referee stopping the 11th round in 2015 for the WBC belt), and the Russian Alexander Povetkin (KO in the 6th round).