By: Queensberry Promotions

(February 26th) Queensberry continues its international expansion on Saturday, 25 April, bringing a landmark night of boxing to the French capital. Paris’ state-of-the-art Adidas Arena will stage ‘Le Double’, a co-promotion with Samake Promotion, headlined by the nation’s two biggest boxing stars.

Live worldwide on DAZN, a blockbuster heavyweight clash dubbed boxing’s own version of Le Crunch, as France faces England. Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka (15-3, 12 KOs) returns to his home city to face former world champion Lawrence Okolie (22-1, 16 KOs) in what promises to be an explosive collision.

The card also features undefeated Parisian super welterweight Bakary Samake (19-0, 11 KOs) takes the crucial next step towards a WBC world title shot, contesting a final eliminator against unbeaten, US-based Albanian Ermal Hadribeaj (22-0-1, 8 KOs).

“I am thrilled to be extending our reach to the French capital,” said promoter Frank Warren. “As in Britain and Germany, the passion for boxing in France runs deep.

“In Tony Yoka and Bakary Samake, we have two major stars capable of reigniting the sport in an important and historic boxing territory.

“There was immense pressure on Tony when he turned professional following his Olympic success, carrying the hopes of a nation on his shoulders. While he performed in sold-out arenas, perhaps the expectations came too soon. Now training in London, he returns as a revitalised, confident fighter, and his homecoming clash with Lawrence Okolie will be a cracker.

“Bakary, meanwhile, is looking to trade up his WBC Silver title in a final eliminator against a tough and experienced opponent in Ermal Hadribeaj. Victory would see another French star firmly established and help secure a bright future for boxing in France.”

Yoka, 33, won Olympic gold in 2016 and turned professional the following year. After winning his first 11 bouts, he suffered three consecutive defeats but has since rebuilt his career while training in England and now enters the contest on a four-fight winning streak.

Okolie, also 33, is a two-weight world champion, having won titles at cruiserweight and bridgerweight. Now campaigning at heavyweight, he currently holds the WBC Silver title and has fought three times at his third professional weight. His most recent defence came against Kevin Lerena at Wembley Stadium last July.

Samake, 22, from Seine-Saint-Denis, captured the WBC Silver super welterweight title with an eighth-round stoppage of Wade Ryan in November 2024, before successfully defending the belt with an eighth-round knockout of Roarke Knapp.

Hadribeaj, 32 — known as The Albanian Sniper — lives in Miami Beach and has held the WBC International super welterweight title since November 2022, making eight successful defences. In his most recent outing, fighting in his hometown of Tirana, the southpaw earned a unanimous decision victory over Placido Ramirez.

About DAZN Group

DAZN Group is one of the fastest growing sports media companies in the world. Headquartered in the UK and with employees in over 25 countries, our businesses touch every aspect of the way fans engage with sports; from production, through to content distribution and commercialization. DAZN Group is home to DAZN, the leading global sport destination, as well as the popular sport portal, DAZN News. DAZN is leading the charge to give sports fans around the world access to sport anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees affordable access on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles. DAZN is now live in more than 200 countries and territories after first launching in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan in 2016.

DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US and the UK.  Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LaLiga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.  

DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League. With the most authentic voice in the sport, DAZN is the only brand that can reach across all markets and audiences cohesively in boxing, unlike any other broadcaster. DAZN is also a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F.  DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans.  

DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialise, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN.  

DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries.

DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to ground-breaking rights catalogue and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including Playstation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Apple TV and find the app on their iPhone, iPad, android and mobile.  

Queensberry, time and time again, delivers a debut to a champion journey for richly talented young fighters and provides an unrivalled platform for them to showcase their ability to the widest possible audience via a major broadcast collaboration and an exceptional digital portfolio.

Fight promotions are regularly staged, servicing the requirements of novice prospects, contenders, title challengers and champions. Boxers are given every opportunity to build a following and maximize their potential.

The wall facing the entrance to the Queensberry headquarters bears the words ‘This is where the magic happens’ because, for decades, it has been the location where the biggest fights have been hatched and matched, where the biggest shows have been plotted and where the best fighters arrive to sign promotional terms for Frank Warren to guide their careers.

It is always about the fighters - with the key being development - but also about the sport, the business of boxing and conjuring up magical nights for the fans and making the fights they want to see.

The experience of Queensberry and the tried and trusted model for creating champions is unparalleled in the sport of boxing. The expertise of International Hall of Fame Promoter Frank Warren has been employed for some 45 years in the professional ranks building some of the biggest stars and navigating them to world champion status.

Frank specializes in taking young fighters right from debut and implementing his knowhow to pick the right fights at the right time and therefore ensuring the boxer is given every opportunity to maximize his or her potential.

Queensberry is currently in the position of being the world’s premier promotional organization, having spent many years building talent and putting in the foundations to ensure prolonged success. The company currently boasts a number of world champions, multiple world title contenders, numerous title-holders and the finest crop of young future stars anywhere in the world.

Queensberry fighters have been given the opportunity to shine on the major global stage both at home and abroad, under the Queensberry banner.

About Frank Warren

In an era spanning over 35 years, Hall of Fame boxing Promoter and Manager Frank Warren has worked with some of the biggest fighters in boxing history. Hamed, Bruno, Tyson, Calzaghe, Benn, Collins, Eubank, Khan and Hatton are some of the iconic names he has promoted during his career.