Carlos Takam puts together four wins on the spin to get back in the game
Takam has bounced back in style since his losses to Britons Joshua and Chisora
Carlos Takam (39-5-1, 28 KOs) has revealed that he is ready to get back to the top of the heavyweight division and believes he can challenge Tyson Fury soon to become world champion.
His first fight since the restart ended in a comfortable victory by unanimous decision against Jerry Forrest (26-4-0, 20 KOs) on July 9 behind closed doors at 'The Bubble' in the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, with the French powerhouse showing steely determination to wash away any ring rust from the extended break.
The Frenchman, born in Cameroon, was delighted with his victory and began talking about his plans for the future and his desire to return to the very top after suffering a near miss back in 2017, when he challenged Anthony Joshua (23-1-0, 21 KOs) for the unified WBA, IBF, and IBO world heavyweight titles.
The 39-year-old dispatched of Forrest at the MGM Grand in their 10-round bout in Vegas with the judges’ score cards coming in at 96-94, 98-92 and 97-93 in Takam’s favour, which took place as the main event on the Top Rank card. The fight was taken by the former IBF Inter-Continental titlist at short notice after the withdrawal of Jarrell Miller due to another failed pre-fight drug test.
The 45-fight veteran, who resides in Nevada, spoke exclusively to Boxing News Now of his delight with the way the fight went with such a limited amount of preparation, and of his desire to move on to bigger and better things after an experienced and composed performance in 'Sin City'.
He said: “I’d give myself a C+. It was difficult to get the proper training with COVID, but we were already training for a fight, but the opponent dropped out, so we were pretty much ready to fight anyway.
“I did not study Forrest very much, but I never had any problems with southpaws in the past. It was not easy knowing that I lost my father, but the night before the fight I had a dream that I was with my father in our city and he was talking to people to come and support me and from that I knew what my father wanted me to do.”
From early roots, Takam showed he had supreme power and talent fighting out of Cameroon, representing his country at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, and followed this success by making his professional debut in France on 10 December 2005, posting a record of 17-0 by the end of 2008.
With plans of a return to the top the clear focus beyond this fight, Takam revealed his feelings towards a potential contest with heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, after eagerly stating his confidence at gaining victory in a future title fight against the Briton.
“Yes, I believe I can beat Tyson Fury. In the heavyweight division anything is possible. I have fought at the top of the division before, and I am capable of getting back there again. I want a shot at a heavyweight title, and Tyson Fury is the man holding them.
“It is my goal to fight for the heavyweight title of the world, and I hope/know that it will come soon. This all comes with a big thanks to Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing and Bob Arum of Top Rank and of course my 'Team Takam'!”
With a quick return planned to the ring after a dominant performance at the MGM, Takam also revealed the name of his next potential opponent amid his plot to return to the very top of his game and become a contender once again.
“I believe a potential opponent could be Oscar Rivas, who I was supposed to face before he was injured. However, I am ready to face anyone. I stay in shape and am always ready to fight.”
The powerful orthodox fighter has now won four consecutive fights since bouncing back from his defeat to British heavyweight Derek Chisora at the O2 arena in late 2018 and is well and truly back on course for bigger fights again under Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and his team at Star Boxing.
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