Tony Yoka vs Carlos Takam

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Yoka was expected to face Carlos Takam on January 15, 2022, in a fight which was supposed to take place at the Accor Arena in Paris, France. Shortly after the bout was scheduled however, Takam withdrew due to injury.^[3] On December 10, 2021, it was announced that Martin Bakole would step in as Takam's replacement.^[4] The fight was postponed on December 28, 2021, due to measures imposed to combat the spread of COVID-19.^[5] Yoka instead chose to enter negotiations to face Filip Hrgović in an IBF title eliminator.^[6] The IBF later ruled Yoka ineligible to enter an agreement with any opponent other than Martin Bakole, as the two had already signed contracts to face each other.^[7] Yoka's fight with Bakole was rescheduled for May 14.^[8] He lost the fight by majority decision, after suffering two knockdowns, in the first and fifth rounds.^[9]