The 2016 Olympic champion, who had himself warned that he had no room for error, bowed to a split decision from the judges and was greeted by a few whistles after ten very tight rounds (96- 94, 96-94, 94-96).

At 30, Yoka now has eleven wins for two defeats and sees the rest of his professional career seriously compromised.

"I'm very disappointed this time because compared to last year when I didn't have a good training camp, this time it went well. But Carlos also worked a lot and he was the strongest tonight", admitted the French heavyweight after his fight.

Yoka was probably playing part of his future against Takam after his unexpected setback last May against Bakole.

At Bercy, the French found himself completely overwhelmed and without a solution against the power of the Congolese, after having knelt on the ground in the first round.

Ten months later, the hero of the Rio Olympics, fallen from his pedestal, was therefore obliged to redeem himself in order to reconfirm his status in the eyes of the public.

"A reference"

To start again, he could have gone for an opponent with a modest pedigree, but it was against the experienced Carlos Takam, (now 40 wins for 7 defeats and a draw) that he had chosen to make his comeback. .

French boxer Tony Yoka (left) against Franco-Cameroonian Carlos Takam during a fight in the heavyweight category, March 11, 2023 at the Zénith de Paris © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Even if he was not the Carlos Takam of the great years, the one who put Anthony Joshua or Alexander Povetkin in difficulty, the Franco-Cameroonian was a very solid opponent in the category.

At 42, he is at the end of his career but has serious references on his CV and still represents a danger in the ring, with his 117.6 kg and his 87 meter.

This fight between the two best French heavyweights, former training partners, was also long awaited by the world of boxing in France.

"I didn't feel like coming back with a small fight. I said he was the strongest opponent I had faced so far, he's a benchmark at heavyweight," said Yoka.

Under the eyes of several other Olympic champions, Nikola Karabatic, Martin Fourcade or Brahim Asloum, the most publicized boxer in France arrived in the ring shortly before 11:30 p.m.

Much younger and much taller than his opponent, Yoka, who had never been so heavy (113.9 kg), was active and mobile from the start of hostilities, but Takam had control of the center of the ring.

French boxer Tony Yoka (right) against Franco-Cameroonian Carlos Takam during a fight in the heavyweight category, March 11, 2023 at the Zénith de Paris © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

"This is not the end"

Encouraged by the "Tony, Tony" descending from the bleachers, he was sometimes precise against the massive carcass of Takam, but he especially suffered the compact boxing and the hooks of his opponent, who waltzed his mouth guard during the seventh round.

"He was the best tactically tonight, he found the breach several times and I missed working between sets. I have to go back to work again," he said.

This second consecutive defeat should take away his dreams of a world belt a little more.

The 30-year-old boxer will have to lower his ambitions and fight even harder to find opponents likely to bring him closer to the top 10.

"It's not the end," promised Tony Yoka, who plans to return to the ring next June.

"It just proves to me that I have to keep working technically, tactically, that I'm improving certain things to pass stages like tonight's."

© 2023 AFP