French Olympian and 2016 super heavyweight gold medalist Tony Yoka (1-0, 1KO) made his highly-anticipated pro debut with a two round knockout of previously undefeated Travis Clark (12-1, 8 KOs) at Le Dome - Palais Des Sports de Paris in France.
Yoka, who is promoted by Richard Schaefer of Ringstar Sports and trained by Virgil Hunter, was too much for the 38-year-old Clark, who had never faced a fighter of Yoka's caliber.
Clark seemed to be a little plump around the middle, which provided the perfect openings for Yoka to blast away at the body and then damage him to the head. The French boxer even did a little shuffle like heavyweight legend Muhammad Ali, as the crowd cheered him on. Yoka dropped Clark twice in the corner, with Clark down on the mat and in obvious pain before the contest was waved off.
Also on the card, junior middleweight prospect Money Powell (2-0, 2 KOs) blasted out Krisztian Kovacs (4-5) in one round.
After his contest, Yoka told local reporters that he intends to bring the world title back to France.
"This is just the beginning, there are many other fights to come and I will bring that belt back," Yoka stated.
Yoka followed up his 2012 Olympic appearance by beating fighters from Croatia, Jordan and the U.S. Virgin Islands before defeating Great Britain's Joe Joyce in the gold medal showdown. With Hunter in his corner, Yoka will look to follow in the footsteps of Anthony Joshua, who went from Olympic super heavyweight gold to heavyweight world champion.
Born in Paris, France, Yoka began boxing at six-years-old and was trained by his father Victor, a former professional boxer in the Congo. The 24-year-old made a splash by winning the French Junior National Championship in 2008 and 2009 before claiming a silver medal at the 2010 Youth World Championships. He continued his rise to prominence by winning French National Championships in 2012 and 2014 while also defeating current heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker at the 2010 Youth Olympic games.
