Martin Bakole defeated Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka
Unbeaten Tony Yoka (11-1, 9KO) was dealt his first career defeat, as he was comfortably outboxed and overpowered by Martin Bakole (18-1, 13KO).
The Frenchman was dropped in rounds one and five by the Congolese combatant en-route to a 10-round majority decision in a one-sided fight, live on ESPN+ on Saturday, May 14, at the Accor Arena in Paris.
One judge bizarrely scored the fight even at 94-94, despite the two knockdowns, but was thankfully overruled by the other scores of 96-92 and 95-93 for Bakole.
The fight was postponed from January 15 by four months due to Covid restrictions to combat the spread of the Omicron variant.
The 28-year-old, who's trained in Scotland by Billy Nelson, started strongly for an underdog in the away corner. Yoka attempted to keep the hulking Scotland-based Congolese heavyweight at the end of his jab but lacked the equalizer to keep him at bay. Bakole sensed a significant power advantage, working his way inside and landing short hooks to the body.
The fight took a surprising turn in the final 30 seconds of the opener when Yoka was staggered back into the ropes. Bakole followed with a right hand forcing the Frenchman to the canvas for the first time in his pro career. Yoka beat the count but was clearly shaken, barely making it to the bell.
The talented Parisien was able to get his jab going in round two but never to the point of turning a fight into a boxing match. Bakole continued to work the body while coming up top with his own jab.
Bakole drew blood in round three with a cut over Yoka’s left eye and also bloodying the nose of the 2016 Olympic Gold medalist. The home fighter looked deflated as he made it back to his corner, where trainer Virgil Hunter urged him to keep his head while believing Bakole was slowing down.
But Bakole boxed with increasing confidence as the fight wore on, he continued to stick his jab in Yoka’s face, treating his broken nose as a target.
Bakole opened round five with a pair of left hooks, missing with both but forcing Yoka bac to box from the outside, and managed to get through a few moments later with a left hook upstairs. Yoka appeared to absorb the shot well, only to lose his footing and fall to the canvas. The referee made a judgment call and ruled it a knockdown, which Yoka begrudgingly accepted.
Yoka didn’t offer any sense of urgency in the sixth, seemingly well behind to this point and uncertain of how to turn the tide. Bakole remained poised, poking with his jab and adjusting defensively before Yoka had a chance to let his hands go. Yoka used lateral movement to make Bakole miss, though the streaking heavyweight closed the round with a right hand that worked its way through Yoka’s guard.
Yoka enjoyed his best sequence of the fight at the start of round seven, standing his ground on the inside and driving home an uppercut that found its mark. Bakole took the shot well but was briefly rocked by a right hand to the temple midway through the round. Bakole dropped his hands and walked back, daring Yoka to come forward in the final minute.
The crowd continued to rally behind Yoka in round eight, with the local hero showing signs of life as he was urged to win every round and score at least one knockdown. Bakole stood at center ring, landing body shots in between jabs and right hands from Yoka, who also connected with a one-two down the middle.
Bakole taunted Yoka in round nine, shaking his right hand in the air and daring the Frenchman to come inside. Yoka proceeded with caution, sticking out his jab and then circling to Bakole’s left in a low contact round.
By the 10th and final round Yoka clearly needed a knockout. Bakole was still landing the more telling blows, stomping his foot on the ground and daring Yoka to fight back. Yoka instead circled the ring, seemingly content to go the distance rather than snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Bakole swung and badly missed with a right hand at his fleet-footed Yopponent, who chose not to fight back, seemingly accepting the inevitable defeat.
Bakole was joined by his older brother, WBC cruiserweight titlist Ilunga ‘Junior’ Makabu, in the ring at fight’s end prior to the revealing of the judges’ scorecards. The announcement made it official, with Bakole improving to 18-1. The win is his seventh straight victory since a 10th-round stoppage to second-generation heavyweight contender Michael Hunter II in October 2018.
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