Did the three strikes he took in defeat pretty much end the elite-level career of French heavyweight Tony Yoka? Yoka, who captured Olympic gold in 2016, was seen as a genuine talent, a man who would perhaps go all the way to the pro level. But losses to Martin Bakole, Carlos Takam, and Ryad Merhy, all coming on the spin, have convinced some that Yoka is now done at anything like top level.

But the 32 year old who is now 13-3(11) but has never been stopped in a fight, has announced his next bout. As picked up by an article in The Pinnacle Gazette, Yoka has announced that he will fight unbeaten Russian heavyweight Arslan Yallyev, the fight to take place in Paris on May 17th. Yoka has won two pretty low-key fights since dropping those three decisions.

28 year old Yallyev is currently unbeaten at 16-0(10) but in truth we don’t know too much about him or how good he is. What we do know is that Yoka cannot afford a fourth defeat. Yallyev has boxed all his pro fights at home in Russia, and there are no obvious or big names on his record, with Victor Emilio Ramirez probably being the most prominent name on his record.

But this is heavyweight boxing, and anything can happen. How much has Yoka got left to offer at this stage? Was Yoka that good to begin with? Yoka, at 6’7”, will be the taller man when he fights Yallyev, who stands an impressive 6’5” himself. Will this fight prove to be a slugfest-type affair, or might Yoka opt to box cautiously?

It’s tough to predict what happens in this one, as we don’t know how much Yoka has left, and at the same time, we don’t know how good Yallyev is. But to repeat, Yoka cannot afford another defeat here. Yoka last saw action in September of last year, while Yallyev last fought in November of 2024. Who knows, the May 17th fight could prove lively.