Rio 2016 gold medallist Tony Yoka continued his professional education with a gruelling 10-round decision over capable German Christian Hammer at the H Arena in Nantes, France, on Friday night.
Scores were 100-89 (all three cards). Heavyweight Yoka, who controversially edged out Joe Joyce at the Olympics four years ago, wasn’t at his best. The uncompromising Hammer (25-7, 15 KOs) played a big part in that, shrugging off a second-round cut over his right eye, following a head clash, to belabour the Frenchman to the body.
Hammer, who retired on his stool after eight rounds against Tyson Fury back in 2015 and stopped David Price in seven two years later, was deducted a point for roughhousing in the sixth, but never looked like falling inside the distance.
Yoka (9-0, 7 KOs) tried to offset Hammer’s aggression with movement but often threw single shots in a performance that won’t have the world’s leading heavyweights losing any sleep.
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Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. rebounded from two straight losses to score a morale-boosting, fourth-round win over US-based Ecuadorian Jeyson Minda at the Parque Revolución in his hometown of Culiacan, Mexico, on Friday night.
He may have seen better days but light-heavy Chavez (52-5-1, 34 KOs and 1 ND) isn’t going away anytime soon, having appeared destined for retirement after disappointing performances against Daniel Jacobs (LRTD5) and Mario Cazares (LTD6) over the past 11 months.
After suffering a bloody nose in the opener, Chavez worked the body and registered knockdowns in the second, third and fourth rounds before a spent Minda (14-3-1, 8 KOs) was saved when his corner waved the white towel.
Main image: Yoka (right) repels Hammer. Photo: Laurent Lairys/Maxppp/PA Images.