Yoka vs Takam full fight video highlights and results: Carlos Takam hands Tony Yoka second straight loss, puts boxing career in question

Carlos Takam dealt Tony Yoka a second straight defeat today in Paris, winning clearly over 10 rounds, even if the French judges came back with a split decision that would give you the impression the fight was competitive.

It wasn’t, the same as Martin Bakole’s majority decision win over Yoka last year was not competitive. Takam didn’t totally dominate Yoka the way Bakole did, but we had him winning nine of the 10 rounds for a 99-91 unofficial scorecard today.

The official judges had it 96-94 Takam on two cards, and 96-94 Yoka on the third. That last one would seem unbelievably bad — and it was! — unless you compare it to the six rounds to four card one judge gave Yoka against Bakole last year.

Yoka (11-2, 9 KO) just does not seem to have it as a pro fighter. He was an Olympic gold medalist, albeit a pretty controversial one, but his pro career has never terribly impressed, and these last two fights have just made it 1000 percent obvious that he does not have that top-level ability in him.

He reminds a bit of David Price, though with some key differences. He takes punches better than Price does and isn’t as stiff and lumbering, but he also doesn’t have Price’s power or fighting spirit. While Price lost seven fights — all by stoppage — and fell far short of early career hopes, he was very much a fighter.

Yoka just does not seem to have that in his personality. He responds poorly to pressure, backs down fairly easily, and at the risk of sounding like I’m doing a bit, simply does not seem to “have that dawg in him.”

The English language commentator summed it up quite well during the fight, saying that Yoka is “not violent enough” and seems “stuck in the amateurs.”

Takam (40-7-1, 28 KO) gets a win that will keep him hanging around as long as he wants, basically. He’s 42 and we’ve long since passed any idea that he would be a true top pro, but he’s a genuine professional fighter. On the other side, Yoka is a guy who has the tools, on paper, to be one, so that’s what he does. But he does not have the grit or the determination of a guy like Takam, who doesn’t have near Yoka’s physical skills or gifts, and Yoka doesn’t really put those skills or gifts to particularly good use, anyway.

Yoka vs Takam highlights