Tony Yoka and the curse of being the poster boy

It then got worse the following year when Yoka lost again, not once but twice. His first loss that year came against his countryman Carlos Takam, who beat him by 10-round split decision, while the second was inflicted by Belgium’s Ryad Merhy, who also edged him on a split. These, admittedly, were both close fights and close decisions, but still Yoka, given his credentials and early hype, should have been beating men like Takam and Merhy, many felt.