Tony Yoka was compared to Anthony Joshua after Olympics but is now forgotten heavyweight

"I don't want to take four years like Anthony Joshua," said Tony Yoka. "That's too much time."

Joshua took four years after winning an Olympic gold medal to add a world heavyweight title, remarkable speed that France's Yoka insisted he could improve upon.

That time is already up for the reigning Olympic super-heavyweight gold medallist, a talent once compared to Joshua who has become today's forgotten heavyweight.

"Lomachenko did it after two fights," Yoka said. "Everybody has his own way. I'm not Lomachenko and I'm not Joshua. I think I'm like between them.

"I don't want to waste my time fighting guys I know I'm going to beat. I need a challenge. I'm not saying I'm going to fight the champion now or tomorrow, but I need to challenge myself. I need to fight for something and move up in the rankings."

The excitement around Yoka was understandable when he made these bold proclamations in 2018 but, since then, he has been left behind by peers of his own generation. วอลเลย์บอล

The athletic Frenchman was a feel-good story of Rio 2016, aside from controversially beating Britain's Joe Joyce in the gold medal fight.

He and his wife Estelle Mossely each picked up boxing gold medals. Their firstborn is named Ali, naturally, already gifted with the perfect genetics to make his own impact in a couple of decades' time.

Yoka had a one-year suspension imposed by the French Anti-Doping Agency from summer 2018 to 2019 for missing three drug tests. He maintained his innocence but, since quietly returning to the ring, has been unable to drum up the same hype that his potential once warranted.

He had impressed in a fifth pro victory, a 10th-round and one-sided beating of popular Brit Dave Allen. Allen had previously been beaten by Dillian Whyte and Luis Ortiz so Yoka, by doing such a clinical job, had reason to believe that he belonged in esteemed company.

Yoka had dived into the deep end of the heavyweight pool immediately, much like his Olympic rival Joyce did. On his pro debut Yoka beat Travis Clark who was unbeaten in 12. His seven opponents so far have a combined record of 116-22-7 - he has, at least, lived up to his promise not to "waste my time fighting guys I know I'm going to beat".