Opposed to Belgian Joël Tambwe Djeko, who had slapped him after the weigh-in on Thursday evening, Tony Yoka played Friday a bitter fight in 12 rounds before seeing his opponent, drunk with blows, give up a few seconds from the end.
This victory brings him closer to the World Top 10 and even more to his Holy Grail: the world heavyweight title.
The Olympic champion is, however, aware that there is still a long way to go.
What does this European Union heavyweight belt represent to you?
TONY YOKA.
It is a first step in the conquest which will appeal to others.
How did you experience this difficult fight in 12 times?
It was long but that was to be expected.
I had said it: Djeko played on his qualities, he is fast, he moves well.
He obviously did not play the showdown, it was not in his interest.
He tried his luck from afar, but as the rounds progressed, I saw that he was mostly trying to survive rather than win technically.
But I did not want to let go of the case.
#YokaDjeko #LaConquete
Yoka destroys Djeko in the last round
▶ ️ https://t.co/L4zkzmVGk7 pic.twitter.com/kAWYE1gR3N
- CANAL + Boxe (@CanalplusBoxe) March 5, 2021
Is this your benchmark fight?
The last one I did here in Nantes, in November, going after 10 rounds was also interesting in this area.
Above all, I see that I have made enormous progress, but that I also have a lot of work still to do.
I have not always succeeded in putting into practice the instructions of the coaches, for example.
Was it important to play 12 rounds to learn?
Boxing is like that, you can't know.
Sometimes there are fights that end in the first round like the one against Duhaupas.
Other times it goes all the way.
There, I'm happy because it was my first fight that went in 12 rounds and I felt good.
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Will you soon face the Englishman Joe Joyce for an expected revenge of the final of the Rio Games?
We want to, we spoke with them.
I hope next September to face a boxer from the World Top 10 but before that, there will be in May or June a fight in the United States against an opponent who remains to be determined.
I am getting better and better ranked and I hope to continue to advance towards the world title.
When do you envision a fight for this world title?
In my head in 2022. I am 13th in the world, if I take a Top 10 in September, there is no reason that I do not have a world chance in 2022.
Will you come back once again to box in Nantes where you seem to like it?
It's possible.
I said I will come back and I came back.
I hope to do it again next time with the public.
I love the Parisian public, but I want to box all over France.
What happened at the weigh-in and did Djeko's slap bother you?
It was important not to let yourself be disturbed by that during the fight.
Were you upset?
Of course I was, that's normal.
But it's also part of the game and the tension of a fight.
The older ones did that and have been there.
In MMA, this happens a lot.
Ultimately, this episode surely made people want to watch the fight.
What did you say to Djeko after the fight?
Well done for having had the courage to step into the ring to face me after that.
Others in his place would have hidden behind Twitter to settle scores.
We settled our case in the ring, it turned out to be a good fight between two men and two good boxers and now it's over.
There is no longer any grudge.