The French heavyweight Tony Yoka will fight the undefeated but little-known Arslan Yallyev of Russia on May 17 at the Adidas Arena in Paris, France.
Win, lose or draw, Yoka-Yallyev is set to be the 13-3 (11KOs) Yoka’s last fight with TV partner Canal+.
Yoka, 32, won Olympic gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro at super heavyweight. He turned professional in 2017, and was fighting over 10 rounds as early as in his fourth fight.
The speed with which he was moved contributed to him losing to the then little-known Martin Bakole in 2022. That defeat was followed by others to Carlos Takam and Ryad Merhy in 2023. All three losses came via split or majority decision, but appeared to have been worthy of wider scorecards against Yoka, who switched trainer from Virgil Hunter to Don Charles before recording two low-key victories in the UK in 2024.
His date with the 28-year-old Yallyev, 16-0 (10KOs) represents a crossroads fight in which he needs to impress.
