Tony Yoka withdraws from WBA title fight with Gassiev

1 min read

French heavyweight Tony Yoka has been ruled out of his July 11 WBA "regular" title fight with Murat Gassiev after sustaining a back injury, sources told ESPN. The fight, scheduled in Moscow for Gassiev's WBA regular title, gained importance when Oleksandr Usyk vacated all his heavyweight titles last month. Brit Joe Joyce, who is due to fight on the undercard in Moscow, is being considered as a replacement. Yoka's withdrawal follows the earlier cancellation in April of his scheduled bout with Lawrence Okolie after Okolie returned an adverse drug test, leaving the title picture unsettled.

Yoka withdrew from the July 11 title fight due to a back injury