Not a bad comeback opponent after two losses. Merhy is pretty capable, albeit somewhat limited. Ironically this is the first world champion Yoka has faced.
Indeed it would. As is well known, Yoka is packing some very fragile glass in that shaky mandible of his, and Merhy could easily put him to sleep. It won't take much. A stiff breeze would put JOKA on ***** street!!
Important one this. A good points win here could put Yoka at the front of the queue for a Joshua fight. AJ should swerve Charr and fight Tony Yoka next I can clearly envision how Eddie would market it: - Battle of the Olympic gold medallists - Britain vs France - Two young, hungry, determined heavyweights, fighting for a seat at the top table “Yoka’s a seriously tough kid Koogz. The man’s never been stopped and he’s been in with some killers.” “A lot of people thought he beat Bakole and Takam. Very close split decisions against proven world class operators. He’s still arguably undefeated.” “Did you see what he did to Allen and Duhaupas? Deontay Wilder isn’t near Yoka’s level.”
Frenchman vs. quasi-Frenchman (Merhy is Belgian) ...or, quasi-African vs. African (Yoka is half-Congolese; Merhy was born in Côte d'Ivoire)
It's going to happen. Yoka has no fight left in him at this point. The speed of Merhy will likely prove to be the difference in Yoka not being able to recover and survive to a decision like he did against Bakole.
I honestly don't really see the point of Yoka continuing to box when he can't even beat a faded gatekeeper like Takam. I have a lot of time for journeymen but I don't think Yoka has any interest in it.
Yoka is done at the top level. Fantastic athlete but not mentally tough enough for the big leagues. His career is game, set, match.
