Heavyweight Carlos Takam’s win over Tony Yoka in France on Saturday night came with a massive dose of reality for the sport of boxing.
Star Boxing attraction Takam, who is now 40-7-1 28 KOs, secured a major victory. He defeated former Olympic 2016 gold medalist Tony Yoka in Paris.
Yoka drops to 11-2 9 KOs, with Takam notching his 40th professional victory.
But the fight left controversy in its wake as the scorecards somehow leaned towards Yoka in his home country on one of the three.
Heavyweight scoring mess
Nobody with an ounce of boxing know-how could have done that in the face of the action in front of their eyes. That judge was Smail Alitouche, a veteran of almost 400 fights.
Star Boxing commented on the shocking split decision: “It was a clear decision victory for Takam. He controlled the pace and action of the fight from the start.
“Known as the gatekeeper of the heavyweight division, Takam was too much for Yoka, shutting down his aspirations of heavyweight glory.
“With the victory, Takam proved he has much left in the tank at the spry age of 42.”
David Benavidez promises knockout
Meanwhile, undefeated interim super middleweight champion of the World Boxing Council, David Benavidez, is revving up for his challenge from top-ranked Caleb Plant on March 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I would be very disappointed in myself if I don’t win by knockout. But I only want to win this fight by knocking him out.
“I am very confident because I have been working very hard. I have left no stone unturned. This is the hardest I’ve worked in a long, long time.
“And I’m very excited and motivated. I feel like everything is lining up in my favor. I’m ready to show the world what I’ve got.”
Benavidez has won six consecutive fights by knockout. He has built one of the highest knockout rates.
His next opponent has won 57 percent of his professional fights by stoppage.
“I don’t like to leave things in the hands of the judges. I have 26 fights with 23 knockouts, so we’re not thinking of letting this fight go on the scorecards.
“We are ready to knock out Caleb Plant. That is definitely the plan.
“I’ve been telling my fans that I will knock him out before six rounds. So I’m a man of my word. I’m definitely going to deliver.”
