2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Tony Yoka Negotiating With Top Rank

[Best Coast]

https://www.boxingnews24.com/2020/01/to ... with-them/

2016 Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka (7-0, 6 KOs) is in negotiations with Top Rank Promotions to sign with them potentially, according to RMCSport. If the 6’7″ Yoka joins Top Rank’s stable, it would give promoter Bob Arum a key heavyweight to build on for the future.

Despite huge expectations after turning professional in 2017, Yoka’s career hasn’t taken off. Part of the reason for that is Yoka was banned for a year from 2018 to 2019 by the French Anti-Doping Agency after missing several drug tests between 2016 and 2017.

If Yoka signs with Top Rank, he’ll be fighting in the U.S in his next contest in the spring. This would be the first fight for Yoka as a professional in the United States, as his previous bouts as a pro have all taken place in his native France.

Arum is upbeat about the possibility of signing Yoka, and he feels that he’ll be able to get it one. He’s not saying who he’ll match Yoka against in his U.S debut, but it’ll likely be someone with respectable talent that the American boxing fans are familiar with.

[Verdi]

Although he won gold, his amateur record wasn't particularly exceptional, with an 18w (1ko) and 11 record.

[cormack]

he will become another of top ranks " protege "

until say Dubois flattens him and then people will realise how little he has got

[ValMar]

To be honest, I can not imagine Yoka as a top 10 HW. Never................

[tiny_acres]

To be honest, I can not imagine Yoka as a top 10 HW. Never................

X2

[Onetimeonly]

To be honest, I can not imagine Yoka as a top 10 HW. Never................

That's crazy to me. Never in a million years could you see him reaching the status of that slob kownacki? Or pulev? Really? I'm not expecting the world out of him but it's been decades since there were 10 really good heavyweights active.

[KiwiRider]

To be honest, I can not imagine Yoka as a top 10 HW. Never................

That's crazy to me. Never in a million years could you see him reaching the status of that slob kownacki? Or pulev? Really? I'm not expecting the world out of him but it's been decades since there were 10 really good heavyweights active.

X2
It's not that hard to arrange the right fights to get Tony "the drug cheat" Yoka into the top ten. He wouls only have to fight a couple of #10-#25 guys and suddenly we will be talking about title fights

[tiny_acres]

To be honest, I can not imagine Yoka as a top 10 HW. Never................

That's crazy to me. Never in a million years could you see him reaching the status of that slob kownacki? Or pulev? Really? I'm not expecting the world out of him but it's been decades since there were 10 really good heavyweights active.

He will be the modern Audley Harrison

[margaret thatcher]

That's crazy to me. Never in a million years could you see him reaching the status of that slob kownacki? Or pulev? Really? I'm not expecting the world out of him but it's been decades since there were 10 really good heavyweights active.

X2
It's not that hard to arrange the right fights to get Tony "the drug cheat" Yoka into the top ten. He wouls only have to fight a couple of #10-#25 guys and suddenly we will be talking about title fights

Ya, thing is today that not many guys are really going out there and beating other top contenders. You can become top 10 just on attrition by beating guys who aren't actually close to top 10 themselves.

[Best Coast]

That's crazy to me. Never in a million years could you see him reaching the status of that slob kownacki? Or pulev? Really? I'm not expecting the world out of him but it's been decades since there were 10 really good heavyweights active.

He will be the modern Audley Harrison

Beg to differ. Fraudley was almost 30 when he turned pro and was already 34 when he sustained his first pro loss. Harrison shouldnt have waited so late to turn pro. Yoka was only 25 when he turned pro & is only 27 now.

Time will tell...

[margaret thatcher]

Audley just wasn't that good, age didn't have much to do with it I don't think

This dude is almost 28 and only has 7 fights, so a bit of a late runner himself. Although seems it's in fashion for HWs to turn pro a bit later these days?