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Mike CoppingerESPN
Tony Yoka, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist at super heavyweight, will fight Martin Bakole rather than Filip Hrgovic following a contract dispute.
Yoka announced on social media Tuesday that he’ll fight Bakole on May 14 in Paris. Yoka is co-promoted by Top Rank, ensuring the fight will be streamed stateside on ESPN+.
Yoka (11-0, 9 KOs) was set to fight Bakole in a step-up bout on Jan. 15 in Paris, but the bout was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Yoka then accepted an IBF heavyweight title eliminator with Hrgovic, a rematch of the Olympic semifinal, but Bakole’s team protested.
Bakole’s manager and trainer, Billy Nelson, told ESPN that their contract stipulated that Yoka’s French promoter, AllStar Boxing president Jerome Abiteboul, will decide in writing if the fight is cancelled or postponed. Abiteboul wrote that the fight would be rescheduled for March 5 or March 12, whichever date worked best for French network Canal+, according to Nelson.
Bakole’s legal team sent letters to the IBF, petitioning the organization to rule that Yoka is unavailable to participate in the Hrgovic bout due to its guidelines prohibiting contracted boxers from taking part in other IBF sanctioned fights.
The IBF ruled in favor of Bakole, meaning Yoka will have to wait for the higher-profile fight.
“I had a chance for a fight I’ve been waiting for years, but thanks to [Bakole], we’ll have to wait again,” Yoka wrote, referring to the Hrgovic matchup. “May 14, it’s going to be personal.”
Bakole (17-1, 13 KOs) has reeled off six consecutive wins since a 10th-round TKO loss to heavyweight contender Michael Hunter in 2018. Most notably, Bakole, 28, scored a unanimous decision victory over Sergey Kuzmin in December 2020.
A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bakole was splitting time between Scotland and his homeland over the past few years before relocating to the U.K., full-time in October. His brother is cruiserweight titleholder Ilunga Makabu.
“Martin is looking forward to doing a number on Yoka,” Nelson said, “and show the world he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.”