Yoka vs Merhy

Who won Yoka vs Merhy?

Ryad Merhy beat Tony Yoka by split decision in their 10 round contest on Saturday 9th December 2023 at Stade Roland Garros in Paris XVI.

The scorecards were announced as 94-96, 96-94, 94-96 in favor of winner Ryad Merhy.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 10 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant there was no weight limit.

Yoka vs Merhy stats

Back in December 2023, Tony Yoka stepped into the ring with a record of 11 wins, 2 loses and 0 draws.

Ryad Merhy made his way to the ring with a record of 31 wins, 2 loses and 0 draws.

Tony Yoka was the older man by 1 year, at 32 years old.

Yoka had a height advantage of 8 inches over Merhy. That also extended to a 11-inch reach advantage.

Both Tony Yoka & Ryad Merhy fought out of an orthodox stance.

Yoka was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 20 less fights, and made his debut in 2017, 3 year and 11 months later than Merhy, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 106 less professional rounds, 81 to Merhy's 187.

Yoka vs Merhy form

Yoka had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Carlos Takam on 11th March 2023 by split decision in their 10 round contest at Zenith de Paris-La Villette, Paris XIX, France.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Martin Bakole Ilunga on 14th May 2022 by majority decision in their 10 round contest at Accord Hotels Arena, Paris.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Petar Milas on 10th September 2021 by technical knockout in the 7th round at Roland Garros, Paris.

Before that, he had beat Joel Tambwe Djeko on 5th March 2021 by technical knockout in the 12th round at H Arena, Loire-Atlantique.

He had won against Christian Hammer on 27th November 2020 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at H Arena, Loire-Atlantique.

Ryad Merhy had stopped 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Kevin Lerena on 13th May 2023 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa.

Previous to that, he had beat Zhaoxin Zhang on 17th July 2021 by technical knockout in the 8th round in their WBA World Cruiserweight championship fight at Bruxelles-Capitale, Bruxelles-Capitale, Belgium.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Imre Szello on 19th October 2019 by knockout in the 7th round in their WBA Interim World Cruiserweight championship fight at Spiroudome Arena, Hainaut.

Before that, he had won against Cesar David Crenz on 4th May 2019 by knockout in the 3rd round at Spiroudome Arena, Hainaut.

He had defeated Samuel Clarkson on 15th December 2018 by knockout in the 4th round at Spiroudome Arena, Hainaut.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Tony Yoka had been fighting more than Ryad Merhy.

Going to this contest, Tony Yoka had last fought 8 months and 28 days ago, while Ryad Merhy's last outing had been 6 months and 26 days ago.

Yoka's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 12 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 9 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 49 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 9.8 rounds on average.

Merhy's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 11 months and 24 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 30 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 34 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 6.8 rounds on average.

What time did Yoka vs Merhy start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 8:00 PM UTC at Stade Roland Garros, Paris XVI, France, which was 3:00 PM EST or 12:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 8:00 PM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Yoka vs Merhy?

Tony Yoka was a 4/11 (-280) favourite going into the contest, while Ryad Merhy made his way into the ring at 21/10 (+210) with oddsmakers.