Boxing: Tony Yoka to face Jarrell Miller on 20 December in Accra

Tony Yoka finally has a ranked opponent. The 2016 Olympic champion will face American Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller on Sunday 20 December at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre in Ghana. Matchroom Boxing made the fight official on 11 November. It will top "The Showdown II", the British promoter's second show in Ghana, broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.

The news comes four days after Yoka's points win in Manchester over Ukraine's Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko, a fight he took on the day. The 34-year-old Parisian, who is signed to Queensberry, a partner on the show, had said he wanted to box regularly. He goes from late replacement to world title contender.

The WBA's top contender

Jarrell Miller, 37, sits at number one in the WBA heavyweight rankings, where Russia's Murat Gassiev is champion. The New Yorker won both his fights in 2026, against Cuba's Lenier Pero and Kingsley Ibeh. His only professional defeat came against Daniel Dubois in December 2023 in Riyadh, stopped seconds from the end of the tenth round. In 2019, failed drug tests cost him a world title fight against Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden.

Matchroom is not billing the bout as a title fight. According to the promoter, the winner could target Gassiev or the winner of Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua, set for 11 December in Cardiff. Eddie Hearn expects "an absolute war" to close the year.

Yoka's road

Gold medallist in Rio at Joe Joyce's expense, Yoka now stands at 16 wins, 12 inside the distance, and 3 defeats. His losses, all on points and all in Paris, came in 2022 and 2023: Martin Bakole, Carlos Takam and Ryad Merhy. He has won every fight since, including a first-round knockout of Germany's Patrick Korte in Lagos in December 2025. Several fights floated in 2026, against Lawrence Okolie and Murat Gassiev, never came off.

Miller, heavier and used to going long, is the toughest test of Yoka's career since Bakole. The number of rounds has not yet been announced.

The rest of the card

The undercard features unbeaten Ghanaian fighters: light heavyweight Jonathan Tetteh (12 wins) against Elvis Ahorgah, lightweight Samuel Takyi, bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, and super flyweight Theo Allotey. Dutch lightweight Jursly Vargas, Liverpool super welterweight Odel Kamara and cruiserweight Divine Omojor complete the bill. Matchroom staged its first Accra show on 20 December 2025, with Craig Richards against Dan Azeez in the main event.