Tony Yoka unspectacularly defeats Christian Hammer by decision

Top-rated French heavyweight boxer Tony Yoka looked unspectacular in a unanimous decision win over Germany’s Christian Hammer. 

French Heavyweight boxer Tony Yoka defeated Germany’s Christian Hammer, but it wasn’t pretty.

At 28 years old, Yoka (9-0, 7 KOs) is headed into his athletic prime. There’s a lot of hype surrounding the 6-foot-8 Yoka, but there wasn’t a lot to rave about from his Friday, Nov. 27 bout against former fringe contender turned journeyman Hammer.

Yoka’s size, power punching and amateur background make him a hot boxing commodity. He won super heavyweight gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Still, progress has been relatively slow during his professional career.

Yoka looked sensational in August when he knocked out fellow countryman Johann Duhaupas in round 1. Duhaupas is known for his ability to take a punch, but Yoka made quick work of him and knocked him down twice before the contest was stopped.

Former gold medalist Tony Yoka remains undefeated with a unanimous decision victory over Christian Hammer

Yoka should be further along in his aspirations towards a title, but he was suspended for a year after missing three drug tests between 2016 and 2017.

Hammer was supposed to fight Dave Allen in October but tested positive for COVID-19. A chance to fight Yoka opened up. He didn’t blow Hammer out, but Hammer did all he could to make it an ugly fight.

Hammer started holding Yoka early in round 1. He leaned on Yoka with all of his 240 pounds throughout the fight when possible. He couldn’t deliver a punch that bothered Yoka, so Hammer had to dig into his bag of tricks to survive the 10-round fight.

A clash of heads opened up a nasty cut over Hammer’s right eye. To his team’s credit, they did a nice job of controlling the bleeding for the remainder of the fight.

Yoka effectively landed his big straight right hand over 10 rounds, but his hand speed looked average, his defense was lackadaisical, and his footwork was pedestrian. He didn’t do much to prove that he’s a future world champion.

You can’t judge a boxer off one fight, especially against a crafty veteran like Hammer. It likely wasn’t the performance Yoka wanted, but the result was a unanimous decision that keeps his world title hopes alive.