Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua vs. Tony Victor James Yoka

Have to give it to Joshua here based on how much more experience he has at the top level. He should be able to reliably find home for his punches without taking too much damage.

Where as Yoka has lost to guys like old Takam and Merhy. I just can't see a path to victory for Yoka if Joshua hasn't become completely washed.

 

Yoka is a very weak gatekeeper at best and also an example of a hype job. A lot of Yoka's hype in the first place was that he won gold in the Olympics which was a rather controversial and a pretty obvious hometown decision.

AJ should get him out of there early and quickly. A lot of people crap on AJ, but he is defo a lot better and a lot more proven than Yoka, whom Yoka was never even anywhere remotely close to good enough to be near AJ's prime or even now.

 

I'm not sure why AJ has waited a fair bit over a year especially if this fight takes place in 2026, AND is waiting for everyone else to confirm and do their thing when AJ is the one that needs to be climbing back onto the ladder.

 

We knew something was very wrong with Tony Yoka long before Bakole beat him up and managed to get a MD win over him. Hiding away in the boxing backwaters of France, on home soil, and facing carefully handpicked opponents well below world level. Unfortunately, for them they picked on the wrong man in Bakole who took away Yoka's undefeated record which was about all he had going for him at that point.

Joshua even now in his denuded state, well past his best, either wins a wide UD or stops Yoka.

Yoka is that classic case of an amateur who should have stayed amateur, and still fights like an amateur today where essentially he is playing a game of tag in the ring. Trying to tag his opponent more often as this is how amateur boxing works. In HW professional boxing such a style is not effective.

 

AJ is suffering from some serious injuries, which is why he has been out the ring for so long.

He needs to train less hard, and let those injuries heal. He also cannot train at the same intensity he has in previous camps as otherwise he will injure himself again. This is an issue though because I am not sure this is something he can accept, seeing himself as not properly ready unless he trains as hard as he did when he was in his prime.

The money on offer is too good to turn down for a return though, and Yoka represents the perfect cannon fodder for an AJ comeback. Yoka lacks the qualities that AJ cannot cope with; power and aggression. Yoka is zero threat to AJ.

 

What injuries?

Must have been THAT serious for AJ be out for a year.

 

A fight that nobody wants to see.

Wonderful.

 

If Joshua can't knock out Yoka, then he should retire from the boxing scene permanently...

 

Yoka is woeful so AJ, as shot and vulnerable as he is, slaps him silly with ease

I’m surprised AJ is bothering with anyone who isn’t Jake Paul, Wilder or Fury tbh. He seems like he has one foot out the door, just waiting on a final big payday against a big name

 

AJ went out on his shield against Dubois. He's lost some swagger of the course of his career due to hard fights and losses, but it's not fair to say he's fought entirely without courage either.

 

Easy win for Joshua.