Tony Yoka has put together five consecutive wins, yet his heavyweight rebuild is chewing through critical years without showing that he has resolved the flaws exposed in his three career defeats. Saturday’s 59-55 points win over Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko in Manchester kept the streak alive, but against opposition well below the standard required of a serious contender.

Six rounds against a durable Ukrainian journeyman on the Buatsi–Hutchinson undercard told us nothing new about the 2016 Olympic gold medalist Yoka. Over the past three years, the former Olympic champion has merely padded out his record while keeping his true ceiling carefully hidden from view.

Yoka controlled the range behind his jab and timed the Ukrainian with rear-hand uppercuts on the way in. What he failed to do was capitalize on that control. His corner repeatedly called for more spite, but Yoka settled for single shots instead of putting together sustained flurries.

Dovbyshchenko has never been stopped, so a decision win is not an embarrassment on paper. The red flag was Yoka’s refusal to turn up the heat on a fighter offering minimal return fire. That hesitation points to an uncomfortable reality: this run has not restored his confidence, it has simply matched him with opposition he can outpoint without evolving.

Yoka still left the ring with a bloody nose and a cut above his eye. Those marks are not catastrophic, but they highlight the danger of letting an aggressive target march forward unpunished. Against punchers with real stopping power, landing early leads means nothing if he cannot survive the inside exchanges that follow.

Scrapped bouts with Lawrence Okolie and Murat Gassiev account for the layoff, and taking Saturday’s contest on a few hours’ notice showed professionalism. Neither factor alters the urgency of his situation.

At 34, padding the record with routine six-round assignments brings zero value. A sink-or-swim test against someone like Frazer Clarke would finally answer whether Yoka can stand firm when an opponent walks straight through his jab.

Queensberry can keep finding him rounds. Finding a win that restores his credibility is the real challenge, and after five tune-ups, that test is long overdue.

Manny Pacquiao‘s next fight could come against one of the biggest names in British boxing.

Pacquiao hasn’t fought since a majority decision draw in a WBC welterweight title fight with Mario Barrios back in July 2025.

The eight-division world champion had been expected to have a rematch with former foe Floyd Mayweather this year, but after that contest fell through, the Filipino icon was instead linked to a match-up on the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua card next month.

That is no longer set to happen eitherbut recent world title challenger Conor Benn has revealed to Sky Sports that he is interested in facing Pacquiao, having been unable to commit to the date in December.

“He’s an all-time legend. He’s an eight-division world champion. He’ll go down in the history books. Another stadium show sounds nice.

“I know the Pacquiao fight was offered to me for December. And I wasn’t ready to get the fight done in December. But if he wants it Q1 next year, we can do Pacquiao.

December was just too soon, making weight, I’ve got a new-born son, so for me it was really about spending time with my family. If Q1, he wants to get it on again, I’m interested.

“I’m always in the gym, always working, if he wants it Q1 next year, we can do it, no problem.”

Benn last fought in September, suffering a second round stoppage loss to WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garciaand while Benn insisted that would be his last bout at 147lbs, it seems a potential bout with Pacquiao may convince him to remain in the division.

Cheavon Clarke stopped Chris Billam Smith in the seventh round at London’s Copper Box Arena, crediting former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko for the tactical blueprint that unraveled the former cruiserweight belt holder.

Asked about grabbing on to mess up Billam Smith’s timing, Clarke gave full credit to Klitschko’s old tactics.

“I learned that one from Klitschko. So, shout out Klitschko. That was a Klitschko special right there,” Clarke stated at the post-fight press conference.

The maneuver served as far more than basic stalling. Inside the ring, holding functions as an offensive exit strategy. A fighter stepping back after launching an attack enters counterpunching range. Smothering the reply by stepping forward eliminates that hazard, outsourcing the retreat to the referee.

That approach neutralized Billam Smith, who relies on sustained pocket combinations to do damage. Getting inside accomplished nothing when every entry resulted in wrapped arms. Each intervention by the referee forced Billam Smith to reset, handing Clarke another opportunity to score before initiating the next clinch.

Beyond killing the return fire, Clarke used his upper torso to press his full weight downward across Billam Smith’s neck. Forcing a fighter to carry dead weight round after round burns out their legs. By the middle rounds, Billam Smith was flat-footed, lacking the spring in his lower body required to absorb contact or dip away from incoming punches.

Clarke pushed the referee’s patience to the limit, later admitting he was warned about losing a point. A verbal warning means nothing to the fighter trapped in a headlock, though. Billam Smith needed to solve the problem himself instead of waiting on the official.

All that holding set the trap for the seventh round knockout. Clarke spent six rounds getting Billam Smith used to being grabbed after every punch. When Clarke stepped in during the seventh, Billam Smith dropped his hands to brace for another clinch. Clarke did not grab him this time. He ripped hard shots straight through the open guard, dropping Billam Smith twice before the referee stopped it at 1:24.

For the rematch, Billam Smith has to stop the clinch before Clarke gets both arms around him. He needs to fight for inside control, keeping one hand free to dig hard hooks into Clarke’s ribs. Timing an uppercut right when Clarke ducks forward would also make him think twice about diving in to grab. Once Clarke has both arms locked, trying to wrestle him off just burns energy without landing punches.

Billam Smith wants an immediate rematch, but running it back without fixing that flaw will lead to the exact same result. He has to hit Clarke on the way in before Clarke grabs him and forces the referee to step in.