Murat Gassiev to defend his WBA Heavyweight belt against Tony Yoka

Who wins: Gassiev v Yoka?

By Ben | Split Decision
Updated: June 15, 2026
Published: May 28, 2026

Murat “Iron” Gassiev defends his WBA “Regular” heavyweight title against Tony “The Artist” Yoka on Saturday, 11 July 2026 at the VTB Arena in Moscow, with main-event ringwalks projected for around 8pm BST. Gassiev, 33-2 with 26 KOs, makes the first defence of the belt he tore away from Kubrat Pulev. Yoka arrives at 15-3 with 12 KOs, still chasing the world title that has so far escaped him.

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For Yoka, the 2016 Olympic super-heavyweight gold medallist who beat Joe Joyce in the Rio final, this is a strange route back to the top table. Initially, he was due to box Lawrence Okolie in Paris on 25 April, until Okolie returned an adverse VADA finding and the whole show fell apart. So instead of a home fight in front of French fans, the Parisian now walks into hostile territory against one of the division’s heaviest hitters.

Gassiev, meanwhile, would arguably have owned the cruiserweight era of the late 2010s had a man named Oleksandr Usyk not existed. One brutal left hook against Pulev rebuilt his heavyweight stock overnight.

As of June 2026, the mandatory picture around Gassiev’s WBA “Regular” belt remains complicated. In the WBA’s May 2026 rankings, Moses Itauma sits at No.1 while Yoka is down at No.14, which naturally raises the question of why the Frenchman is getting the secondary title shot first. The answer appears to be timing rather than merit.

Gassiev has said talks with Itauma’s team took place earlier in the year, only for the Brit’s side to explore a different route, with Itauma now expected to face Filip Hrgovic instead. That leaves Gassiev vs Yoka as the immediate title fight, while Itauma may now be on a faster path towards a full world title shot rather than the WBA “Regular” belt.

When is Gassiev vs Yoka? UK time and date

Gassiev vs Yoka takes place on Saturday, 11 July 2026 at the VTB Arena in Moscow. The bout headlines IBA Pro 19, the latest card from the professional arm of the International Boxing Association run by Umar Kremlev. Because Moscow runs two hours ahead of the UK in summer, the action lands in convenient prime-time hours for British and Irish fans.

Gassiev vs Yoka Full Fight Card

The undercard is starting to take shape, with Joe Joyce now set to return against unbeaten Russian heavyweight Artem Suslenkov. Joyce has not boxed since his points defeat to Filip Hrgovic in April 2025, while Suslenkov enters at 14-0 and is being positioned as another dangerous heavyweight name on the IBA Pro 19 card.

Confirmed/reported card so far:

Where to watch Gassiev vs Yoka: TV channel, DAZN and streaming

At the time of writing, IBA Pro has not confirmed the UK broadcaster for IBA Pro 19. Recent IBA Pro cards, including Pulev vs Gassiev in Dubai, were broadcast on DAZN, so DAZN is a plausible home for this event if a similar deal is agreed. However, no UK broadcaster has been confirmed yet.

If the fight does land on DAZN, you can sign up to DAZN through our affiliate link. Same price to you, while supporting the site.

Gassiev vs Yoka tale of the tape and breakdown

Murat Gassiev:

Tony Yoka:

Murat Gassiev recent form

Tony Yoka recent form

Our Fight Night Prediction

Frank Warren, co-promoting through Queensberry, is bullish about the visitor. “This is a great fight and one that we at Queensberry truly believe our man will win,” Warren said in the announcement. “Tony and Don Charles have been working extremely hard in the gym, so we fully expect them to go to Russia and do the business against a tough opponent in Gassiev and bring the title back to France.” Yoka, for his part, framed it as redemption, vowing to win “for all my people in France and Congo that have not only stuck with me, but still believe in me becoming a professional world champion.”

Split Decision backs Gassiev to win by stoppage, rounds 7-10. At home, with the heavier hands and the sharper recent form, he should eventually wear Yoka down and land the punch that has flattened better men.

The honest danger is real though, because Yoka’s chin has held against everyone he has faced, and a disciplined, mobile version of the Olympian who refuses to get into a war could nick a wide decision and embarrass the champion on his own turf.

Recent Odds

UK bookmakers have not posted prices yet, since the fight was only confirmed on 27 May. Based on comparable matchups, expect Gassiev to open as a firm favourite in the region of 1/3 to 2/5, with Yoka likely to be priced somewhere around 2/1 to 5/2 as the underdog. We will update this section once the major UK firms price the fight.

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