BoxRec

Murat Gassiev to defend WBA heavyweight title against Tony Yoka in Moscow in July

Murat Gassiev defends his WBA Regular heavyweight title against Tony Yoka aiming to retain his mandatory position to Oleksandr Usyk; Yoka returns to action after cancellation of Lawrence Okolie fight

Murat Gassiev will defend his WBA heavyweight title against Tony Yoka in Moscow on July 11, Sky Sports understands.

WBA Regular champion Gassiev goes in search of a 34th professional victory as he looks to preserve his position as the mandatory challenger to Super champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Under WBA rules, the Regular champion is treated as the automatic No 1 contender to the Super title.

Unbeaten unified heavyweight champion Usyk is currently obliged to defend his WBA belt against Gassiev after completing a mandatory defence of his WBC title against Agit Kabayel.

If Usyk vacates the WBA title, Gassiev could either be elevated to full champion or ordered to fight for the vacant belt.

The bout also represents a major opportunity for Yoka, who can spring himself into world title contention in his first fight since December 2025 after a succession of cancelled contests.

The Frenchman was scheduled to face Lawrence Okolie in Paris in April, but the fight was cancelled after Okolie failed a drugs test during fight week.

Yoka, the 2016 Olympic gold medallist, was later reported to have secured a place on the Dave Allen vs Filip Hrgovic undercard, but no matchup failed to materialise.

Gassiev comes into the fight after his devastating sixth-round stoppage of Kubrat Pulev in Dubai last December.

Great for Yoka.. Skips past Okolie and Frank boxes off a 'world' title fight for him..

Yoka will win this. I'm glad for him to get this kind of opportunity. He's had a rough go of it as a Pro, and this is his chance to pick up a belt. However meaningless, he can feel he's done something as a Pro when he beats Gassiev.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:27 Yoka will win this. I'm glad for him to get this kind of opportunity. He's had a rough go of it as a Pro, and this is his chance to pick up a belt. However meaningless, he can feel he's done something as a Pro when he beats Gassiev.

Really??

I think it could go either way.. Which makes me invested in it as well.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:28

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:27 Yoka will win this. I'm glad for him to get this kind of opportunity. He's had a rough go of it as a Pro, and this is his chance to pick up a belt. However meaningless, he can feel he's done something as a Pro when he beats Gassiev.

Really??

I think it could go either way.. Which makes me invested in it as well.

I'm confident Yoka can beat this guy.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:27 Yoka will win this. I'm glad for him to get this kind of opportunity. He's had a rough go of it as a Pro, and this is his chance to pick up a belt. However meaningless, he can feel he's done something as a Pro when he beats Gassiev.

what makes you that confident? yoka has lost every time hes fought at this level

his 'rough go' is him not being able to beat even a blown up cruiser fringe contender like merhy

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:29

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:27 Yoka will win this. I'm glad for him to get this kind of opportunity. He's had a rough go of it as a Pro, and this is his chance to pick up a belt. However meaningless, he can feel he's done something as a Pro when he beats Gassiev.

what makes you that confident? yoka has lost every time hes fought at this level

Just a feeling man. This is Yoka's chance. This is his only chance. He'll be ready.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:30

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:29

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:27 Yoka will win this. I'm glad for him to get this kind of opportunity. He's had a rough go of it as a Pro, and this is his chance to pick up a belt. However meaningless, he can feel he's done something as a Pro when he beats Gassiev.

what makes you that confident? yoka has lost every time hes fought at this level

Just a feeling man. This is Yoka's chance. This is his only chance. He'll be ready.

hopefully better than the last time he fought (and lost) to a former cruiser...

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:30

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:29

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:27 Yoka will win this. I'm glad for him to get this kind of opportunity. He's had a rough go of it as a Pro, and this is his chance to pick up a belt. However meaningless, he can feel he's done something as a Pro when he beats Gassiev.

what makes you that confident? yoka has lost every time hes fought at this level

Just a feeling man. This is Yoka's chance. This is his only chance. He'll be ready.

Did you think he had a good chance of beating Okolie?

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:31

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:30

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:29

what makes you that confident? yoka has lost every time hes fought at this level

Just a feeling man. This is Yoka's chance. This is his only chance. He'll be ready.

hopefully better than the last time he fought (and lost) to a former cruiser...

Yoka has never been stopped. Gassiev was losing every single round prior to catching and stopping Pulev.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:31

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:30

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:29

what makes you that confident? yoka has lost every time hes fought at this level

Just a feeling man. This is Yoka's chance. This is his only chance. He'll be ready.

Did you think he had a good chance of beating Okolie?

Wasn't even paying attention at the time to be quite honest with you.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:33

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:31

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:30

Just a feeling man. This is Yoka's chance. This is his only chance. He'll be ready.

hopefully better than the last time he fought (and lost) to a former cruiser...

Yoka has never been stopped. Gassiev was losing every single round prior to catching and stopping Pulev.

hes been hurt and knocked down and taken many rounds to recover. he's been gun shy. he's lost to worse fighters than gassiev. boxing outside his french bubble now too

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:34

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:33

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:31

hopefully better than the last time he fought (and lost) to a former cruiser...

Yoka has never been stopped. Gassiev was losing every single round prior to catching and stopping Pulev.

hes been hurt and knocked down and taken many rounds to recover. he's been gun shy. he's lost to worse fighters than gassiev.

We'll see man. It's not an unwinnable fight for either man certainly, but I just go with Yoka on this in my gut. I could be wrong.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:27 Yoka will win this. I'm glad for him to get this kind of opportunity. He's had a rough go of it as a Pro, and this is his chance to pick up a belt. However meaningless, he can feel he's done something as a Pro when he beats Gassiev.

Poor drug cheat

Who Yoka? If Yoka has been taking PED's he needs to take more of 'em so he can win more often

"Under WBA rules, the Regular champion is treated as the automatic No 1 contender to the Super title.

Unbeaten unified heavyweight champion Usyk is currently obliged to defend his WBA belt against Gassiev after completing a mandatory defence of his WBC title against Agit Kabayel.

If Usyk vacates the WBA title, Gassiev could either be elevated to full champion or ordered to fight for the vacant belt."

Do sky sports writers know anything about boxing?

gilgamesh wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:39 Who Yoka? If Yoka has been taking PED's he needs to take more of 'em so he can win more often

French boxer Yoka given suspended one-year ban for four missed drug tests - France 24 https://share.google/O3Sf3l39b2M70ONQs

joshj909 wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 04:39

"Under WBA rules, the Regular champion is treated as the automatic No 1 contender to the Super title.

Unbeaten unified heavyweight champion Usyk is currently obliged to defend his WBA belt against Gassiev after completing a mandatory defence of his WBC title against Agit Kabayel.

If Usyk vacates the WBA title, Gassiev could either be elevated to full champion or ordered to fight for the vacant belt."

Do sky sports writers know anything about boxing?

I honestly think maybe we should follow Boxrec's lead and start disregarding the WBA as a major World Title.

This is a good fight, but I see both these guys as capped as “opponents” at this point…

Perfect result would be yoka beats gassieve and Moses fights yoka…

6”7 gold medalist “world champ”… France and England have a good rivalry. Tony is not great… if Moses fought hrg and won in August I think yoka as a slight step back “world title grab” would be good for Novemberish.

gregregegg wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 05:52 This is a good fight, but I see both these guys as capped as “opponents” at this point…

Perfect result would be yoka beats gassieve and Moses fights yoka…

6”7 gold medalist “world champ”… France and England have a good rivalry. Tony is not great… if Moses fought hrg and won in August I think yoka as a slight step back “world title grab” would be good for Novemberish.

That might sell to casuals but Gassiev Vs Itauma is a better fight. Yoka has been beaten by worse shorter guys than Gassiev. Itauma can face whoever has the belt. The WBA already mandated it last year if he wants it.

Wallin wrote the blue print for tall guys to beat Gassiev so if Yoka can't do that, that shows where Yoka really is.

Announced: Murat Gassiev will defend his WBA 'regular' heavyweight title against Tony Yoka on July 11th in Moscow, Russia.

CONFIRMED: Murat Gassiev will defend his WBA Regular heavyweight title against Tony Yoka on a July 11 IBA Pro show in Moscow, Russia.

MURAT GASSIEV VS. TONY YOKA SET FOR JULY 11

Heavyweight contenders Murat Gassiev and Tony Yoka will clash in Moscow, Russia on July 11.

Gassiev (33-2, 26 KOs) has not boxed since he claimed a secondary WBA belt via a sixth-round knockout of Kubrat Pulev in Dubai on December 12.

And now it has been confirmed that the Russian will put the strap on the line for the first time against Yoka.

The 34-year-old from Paris has also been out of action since December but had been expecting to face Lawrence Okolie last month. However their fight, scheduled for April 25, was cancelled when Okolie returned an adverse finding following a VADA test in the build-up.

Now Yoka will face another former cruiserweight world champion in the form of Gassiev at Moscow’s VTB Arena as the headline fight at the next IBA Pro event.

Per a press release from the organisation, Gassiev said: “Tony Yoka is a tremendous champion, an Olympic gold medalist, a big, strong heavyweight with serious skills. I have huge respect for him.”

Gassiev, who is currently The Ring’s No. 9-rated heavyweight, had been linked with an August 8 clash with Moses Itauma in London. Yoka (15-3, 12 KOs) is not currently ranked inside the top 10.

Whoever wins in Moscow will put themselves in line for a crack at the full WBA title, which will be on the line should Oleksandr Usyk and Agit Kabayel rubber stamp their mooted summer clash.

Murat Gassiev to defend against Tony Yoka on July 11 in Russia

Murat Gassiev will make the first defense of his WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title against Tony Yoka on July 11. The event will be promoted by IBA Pro and take place at the VTB Arena in Moscow, Russia.

Gassiev, a former cruiserweight titleholder, is yet to hit the heights of his cruiserweight days at heavyweight. However, the 32-year-old registered his best win yet in the banner division, a sixth-round knockout of Kubrat Pulev in December, winning the WBA secondary belt. The WBA ‘super’ champion remains Oleksandr Usyk.

“It is an honour to defend the WBA horld heavyweight Title for the first time, and to do it at home in front of my Russian fans makes it extra special,” said Gassiev, 33-2 (26 KOs), in a press release. “Tony Yoka is a tremendous champion, an Olympic gold medallist, a big, strong heavyweight with serious skills. I have huge respect for him. I would like to thank both my team and President Kremlev for this opportunity. On July 11, I will do my absolute best to win and keep the belt in Russia.”

France’s Yoka was due to take on Lawrence Okolie in a WBC eliminator in April but the Englishman failed a drugs test and the bout was cancelled mere days before it was due to begin. Yoka has not yet delivered on the promise that was expected of him following a successful amateur career that delivered an Olympic gold medal at the 2016 games. However, Since teaming up with Don Charles – who recently masterminded Daniel Dubois’ heavyweight title triumph – Yoka now believes he has the right team in place.

“I’m going to win this world title for all my people in France and Congo that have not only stuck with me, but still believe in me becoming a professional world champion,” said Yoka, 15-3 (12 KOs). “I’ve been working hard for over two years now with Don Charles and I’m ready to showcase to the boxing world the changes in my professional boxing. I want to thank Don and my team for backing me 100 per cent through this period, as well as Frank and George Warren at the best promoters in the world, Queensberry, for getting me this opportunity which I will make the most of.”

Had followed Yoka for a while now, and I would love to see him win. But I am not very confident, because Yoka is not that much of a puncher (had KOs against very low opposition and an aging Duhaupas) but went to distance when adversity rises (not only his three loss, but also against Rice, Hammer and Yallyev). And if it goes to scorecard, and it is even remotely close, the decision will go to the local, so Gassiev since it is in Moscow (it is difficult to pretend it was not the same the other way around, in France he lost three times by large margin and it becomes three close decision, one MD and two SD to spare hs rankings and reputation). So for me it will ends in a win on points for Gassiev