Tony Yoka vs Martin Bakole postponed due to COVID restrictions

Down goes another compelling matchup. Jérôme Abiteboul, who promotes unbeaten heavyweight contender Tony Yoka, announced today that “La Conquete’s” January 15th clash with Martin Bakole has been postponed indefinitely due to France’s Omicron restrictions limiting events to 2,000 spectators.

Per Abiteboul, more than 5,000 tickets had been sold, rendering a more limited audience “not economically viable.”

It’s unquestionably a shame; this was to be Yoka’s (11-0, 9 KO) most meaningful professional fight to date, pitting him against a genuine threat in Bakole (17-1, 13 KO) who’d bounced back from his own defeat stronger than ever. It’s also unlikely to be the only major cancellation of early 2022, as the new variant and a holiday boom have left new COVID cases at a record high worldwide. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a return to the Bubble system we had for a while, at least outside of America.

Fingers crossed I’m being pessimistic.