Johann, how did the preparation go to face Toni Yoka?
Johann Duhaupas:
Very good.
The only problem was the inactivity during these long months due to the Covid, otherwise I don't think I have ever prepared for a fight so seriously.
Even at the World Championships I didn't have so much preparation time.
I paid attention to the food, I had the right sparring partners and I gave myself the means to prepare for this fight as best as possible.
What does this fight represent in your career?
A handover but I don't want it to take place now.
He's the young lion against the oldest and I have the experience for me.
Tony went number 1 in France in the rankings on some boxing sites while there was confinement and no fight was organized during this period ... I did not really understand why.
He has the chance to prove he's number 1 for a real reason on Friday.
What type of confrontation do you expect?
I imagine a difficult fight at the beginning but to my advantage over the length.
Tony is a very good technician, he will be complicated to maneuver but over the length the opposition can turn to my advantage.
The fight will go until the end of the twelve rounds according to you?
I feel a long fight but I do not see going to the end, no.
"I took this fight like it was a World Championship."
You've faced Deontay Wilder, Alexander Povtkin, big names in heavyweight, where does your opponent Tony Yoka stand compared to them?
In my head and during my preparation I placed it at the same level so as not to neglect anything.
I took this fight as if it was a World Championship.
I realize that this is one of my last fights and that there is a story to be settled between us.
But to really situate Yoka in relation to them, I would say that boxers that I have faced like Wilder or Povetkin are ahead, by their experience, their professionalism… They have records of world champions.
Tony is bound to be below.
This fight is also the opportunity to show yourself to the general public who do not necessarily know you ...
Indeed, it gives me an opportunity to show myself even if this is not necessarily what I'm looking for.
It's a shame, I would have preferred that the general public had known me before with the fights I had against Robert Helenius or Manuel Charr.
If the fights had been televised at that point, he would have seen a heavyweight of a very high level.
Unfortunately, they took place quietly, just in the world of boxing.
If you win, at 39, do you still dream of a new world chance?
It is possible but I know very well that I am closer to the end than to the beginning of my career.
I take the fights as they come and I don't want to project myself.
If I beat it, doors will certainly open but I won't be in this sport for very long.
Which does not prevent me from having the motivation for this fight.
I have a score to settle with Tony before I think about any of this.
“We liked each other but there were some words that hurt.
We will settle this by slapping each other on the face. ”
Does this resentment towards Yoka play in your motivation?
A lot, yes.
At one point, when I boxed against Miller in New York (defeat in 2018, editor's note) and he tested positive, it all really inflated me.
I thought about giving up boxing by telling myself that I was going to take care of my wife and the baby she was expecting.
Before giving birth, my wife had three miscarriages and three complicated pregnancies.
I said to myself: "Basta, boxing gets me drunk, I'm going to accompany my baby, I'm going to take a break."
That's when Tony Yoka came to provoke me to offer me a fight in July.
That's what got me drunk.
I wasn't scared to face it and I've shown throughout my career that I've never been afraid.
Did you get a little nasty with Yoka a few weeks ago, apart from your rivalry, is he someone you appreciate?
(Jérôme Le Banner, former French professional kick-boxer who accompanied Johan Duhaupas in his preparation speaks and lets go: “Fuck you! Fuck him!”) I respect him, of course.
He has a journey that cannot be taken away from him.
On his qualities, he is an excellent boxer.
In the past, I helped him for his World Amateur Championships, he helped me with the fight against Wilder… We appreciated each other but there were words that were hurtful.
We're going to settle this by slapping each other on the face.
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