Paris (AFP)
Great favorite of the fight, the French Tony Yoka suffered but ended up finding the opening to defeat the Croatian Petar Milas, arrested in the 7th round, and to retain his title of European Union heavyweight champion on Friday, celebrating with dignity the big comeback of boxing at Roland Garros.
This 11th victory in as many fights against an opponent inactive for two years will not add much to the glory of the Rio-2016 Olympic gold medalist. But Yoka was under the obligation to do it in order not to attract the wrath of the 8,500 spectators massed on the Philippe-Chatrier court, covered for the occasion, and not to spoil the reunion with this high place of the noble art, which saw prestigious fighters of the caliber of Marcel Cerdan, Carlos Monzon or Jean-Claude Bouttier pass between the years 1930 and 1970.
Yoka therefore had little to fear, except his reputation, he who aspires to one day conquer a world belt since his passage among professionals in 2017. If this success is far from removing all obstacles on the road to his supreme objective, he at least allows him to continue his journey without too many pitfalls, while waiting to be able to quickly rub shoulders with a Top 10 fighter. Until then, he could try to afford the belt of European champion.
Yoka, who defended for the first time a belt obtained in March against the Belgian Joël Tambwe Djeko, nevertheless experienced serious difficulties at the start of hostilities.
Very mobile and more active, Milas gave him a hard time and the Parisian had a hard time framing him.
Frenchman Tony Yoka (l) against Croatian Petar Milas, during their fight for the title of European Union heavyweight champion, on September 10, 2021 at the Roland-Garros central FRANCK FIFE AFP
- Patience -
Under the eyes of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, the French therefore had to take his trouble patiently before managing to accelerate in the 7th round to finish the job on a terrible left-right sequence.
Milas managed to get up before falling to the mat in an avalanche of blows, forcing the referee to cut short the proceedings.
The Croatian Peter Milas is counted by the referee after being sent to the mat by the French Tony Yoka, during their fight for the title of European Union heavyweight champion, on September 10, 2021 at the central Roland- Garros FRANCK FIFE AFP
"He was a boxer with enormous qualities and as I had announced, it was necessary to wait, reacted Tony Yoka. I had to play on my qualities. I knew he was going to start strong, that he was fast, that he was going to move. I worked and it ended up paying off. I built my win and it ended in a nice knockout. "
"It had been a year since I had boxed with the public, there was pressure, there was the president, it is for all these reasons that I should not miss me, he added. . The atmosphere was beyond my expectations. When I entered the ring and I felt the public applaud me, it warmed my heart, it makes me want to come back. "
Frenchman Tony Yoka poses with a portrait of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, a big boxing fan who died on September 6, after retaining his title of European Union heavyweight champion by beating the Croatian Petar Milas by stoppage of the referee at the 7th round, on September 10, 2021 on the Roland-Garros central FRANCK FIFE AFP
This evening was all the more successful as the two other members of the "Solid Team" on the program won.
Mathieu Bauderlique, 3rd in the Rio Olympics, was crowned European light heavyweight champion against Russian Igor Mikhalkin (abandoned at the call of the 8th round), while the former captain of the France team Souleymane Cissokho, back in France after two years boxing in the United States, retained his WBA intercontinental super-welterweight belt against Russian Ismail Iliev (abandoned on appeal in the 5th round).
© 2021 AFP