:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67127486/861924268.jpg.0.jpg)
2016 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist Tony Yoka will make his first appearance in nearly a year on September 25th, taking on veteran countryman Johann Duhaupas in a Paris headliner.
Grande soirée boxe le 25 septembre à Paris, proposée par @allstar_boxing et @canalplus ⭐️
— CANAL+ Boxe (@CanalplusBoxe) July 29, 2020
La Conquête continue !@TonyYoka face à @JohannDuhaupas en main event, après des combats notamment d' @EstelleMossely @Souleymane_C et @FarrhadSaad
Soyez au RDV !
The show will also feature his wife and fellow Rio gold medalist Estelle Mossely, plus bronze medalist Souleymane Cissokho and unbeaten middleweight Farrhad Saad.
Yoka (7-0, 6 KO) has notched a few decent wins in the pro ranks, including knockouts of Dave Allen and Alexander Dimitrenko, but has struggled to gain momentum due to out-of-ring shenanigans. He was suspended in 2018 for skipping three separate drug tests and saw a potential March stateside debut scrapped by the coronavirus.
He takes a step sideways against the 39-year-old Duhaupas (38-5, 25 KO), last seen knocking out Luis Pascual in October. Though “Reptile” is decent enough, boasting wins over Mahmoud Charr and Robert Helenius, he’s consistently fallen short against top opposition like Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin. Not a tune-up, but ostensibly not a serious threat, either.