Professional career
In 2017, Yoka turned professional. Trained by Virgil Hunter, Yoka fought and beat Travis Clark in his debut fight at Le Palais des Sports in Paris, in June 2017. [11] In October 2017, Yoka defeated Jonathan Rice via unanimous decision 59–56, 60–54, and 58–56.
In July 2018, the French Anti-Doping Agency banned him for one year because of missing three drug tests between July 2016 and July 2017. [12] His appeal against the ruling was rejected by the French Council of State in August 2018. [13]
On 28 September 2019, Yoka faced Michael Wallisch. Yoka dropped Wallisch in the third round and Wallisch barely beat the count, which prompted the referee to wave the fight off and award Yoka the TKO victory. [14]
In his next fight, Yoka faced former world title challenger and veteran countryman Johann Duhaupas. Yoka cruised past his experienced opponent, dropping him twice in the first round, the second time also being the final one from which Duhaupas would not get up. [15]
On 27 November 2020, Yoka faced another veteran in Christian Hammer. Hammer caused Yoka some problems during the fight, but Yoka's win was never at risk, and went on to win the fight via unanimous decision, 100–89 on all three scorecards. [16]
Yoka faced the former IBF International heavyweight titlist Joel Tambwe Djeko for the vacant European Union heavyweight title. The bout was scheduled for 5 March 2021, at the H Arena in Nantes, France. [17] It was broadcast on ESPN+ in the US and Canal+ in France. [18] He won the fight by a late twelfth-round technical knockout. A well place jab forced Djeko to turn his back and stop defending himself, which forced the referee to wave the fight off at the very last second. [19]
Yoka was next set to face the undefeated Croatian heavyweight Petar Milas on 10 September 2021, at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. [20] Yoka was the bigger and more experienced boxer heading into the bout, [21] and accordingly entered as a betting favorite. [22] Yoka's fight was once again broadcast on ESPN+ in the US and Canal+ in France. [23] Yoka won the fight by technical knockout, stopping Milas at the very last second of the seventh round. [24]
Yoka was expected to face Carlos Takam on 15 January 2022, in a fight which was supposed to take place at the Accor Arena in Paris, France. However, shortly after the bout was scheduled, Takam withdrew due to injury. [25] On 10 December 2021, it was announced that Martin Bakole would step in as Takam's replacement. [26] The fight was postponed on 28 December 2021, due to measures imposed to combat the spread of COVID-19. [27] Yoka instead chose to enter negotiations to face Filip Hrgović in an IBF title eliminator. [28] The IBF later ruled Yoka ineligible to enter an agreement with any opponent other than Martin Bakole, as the two had already signed contracts to face each other. [29] Yoka's fight with Bakole was rescheduled for 14 May 2022. [30] He lost the fight by majority decision, after suffering two knockdowns, in the first and fifth rounds. [31]
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