The Olympic champion (2016) was initially to be opposed to Bakole on January 15 at Bercy but the meeting had been postponed due to the return of the gauges linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After this setback, Yoka, undefeated in 11 outings (9 successes before the limit), agreed to challenge Croatian Filip Hrgovic in an IBF world semi-final, but the body finally considered that Yoka remained committed to a fight against Bakole.
"We didn't want to miss out on this chance to become the official challenger to the next winner of the Alexander Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua fight but the Bakole clan have come forward to the IBF saying they have a valid contract for The rule of the IBF is simple: if a boxer is already engaged in another fight or injured, he is considered unavailable", explained to AFP Jérôme Abiteboul, the promoter of the French.
Bakole will still be a very good test for Tony Yoka (29), who has not fought since September 10 (a victory against Croatian Peter Milas by KO in the 7th round) and aims to one day become world champion of the queen category.
The Congolese (28) is ranked 18th by the reference site boxrec (Yoka is 19th) and has only known defeat once in 18 appearances in the ring (13 KOs).
"He's a world-class opponent, who ultimately corresponds to the plan that should lead Tony to a world final, said Jérôme Abiteboul. This will take us to a 13th fight, certainly a world semi-final. We're still on schedule. passing".
Bercy will also be the scene of the great professional debut of French lightweight Sofiane Oumiha.
The Olympic silver medalist (2016), double amateur world champion but returned empty-handed from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, will have to do battle with his compatriot Mevy Boufoudi.
© 2022 AFP