Friday evening, Paris La Défense Arena will host the Franco-French clash between Tony Yoka and Johann Duhaupas in the heavyweight category (10:15 pm on Canal +).
A fight between the 28-year-old Olympic champion and the 39-year-old Northerner who responds to the nickname of "reptile".
This qualifier, the fighter with 38 victories and 5 defeats in the premier category among professionals, has drawn from the world of video games of which he is a fan.
I identified with this character because I was a boy with very little self-confidence
Johann duhaupas
“It has a real history since it is myself who attributed it to myself.
It comes from the Mortal Kombat game when I was playing as a teenager.
I identified with this character because I was a boy with very little self-confidence.
When I closed my eyes, I put on music while I fell asleep at night, I became that character.
I imagined myself as a very powerful and respected person.
It allowed me to gain self-confidence and when I advanced in pro boxing and it was necessary to find a nickname, I found it perfectly suited ", explained the colossus of 1m93 a few moments after a Tuesday workout in Paris.
"I find this nickname rotten to death"
Tony yoka
"It does not remind me of anything at all, I find it rotten to death this name (laughs)", responded Tony Yoka, at the mention of the nickname of his opponent.
The Parisian is sometimes called "The artist", in reference to his technical background above the norm and to a clean style.
Outside our borders, we rather cite “La Conquête” to designate the French.
A denominational born in 2017 when he signed up with
Canal +
by setting himself the mission of one day becoming the first French heavyweight champion of the world after winning gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016. “But it is his story, maybe there is something unrelated that makes him call himself like that, ”added the Parisian who plans to get his chance for a planetary belt in a little over a year.
A dream that begins with success against the "reptile".
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