Martin Bakole is headed towards a March fight with fellow heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba. Bakole’s trainer Billy Nelson has revealed – as reported by Boxing News – that the fight will take place on a Boxxer bill somewhere in the UK on an as yet unconfirmed date in March. A good fight, it’s been reported in various places that Bakole Vs. Ajabga will be a final eliminator for the IBF heavyweight title.
Bakole has been making news these past couple of days by calling out Anthony Joshua. Bakole is steamed at AJ for picking Ajagba to defeat him, and for taking back his offer to fight him in Africa. Bakole should really be focusing on Ajagba, who is 20-1(14), but it seems the Congolese giant is more interested in getting Joshua into the ring. And if the fight happens? “I would knock him out cold in the first round,” Bakole said.
“AJ, before he accepted the Daniel Dubois fight [last September], I called him out. Himself, he came and said we could fight in Africa but now I’m disappointed he got knocked out by someone I knocked out twice in the gym,” Bakole said to IFL TV. “Imagine if it was me [fighting AJ, not Dubois] I would knock him out cold in the first round. Now he’s talking bull s**t I’m taking it serious this fight. I was looking for AJ and now he’s saying Ajagba is going to beat me, I don’t know, disgrace. Be careful. I want him next.”
It seems Bakole, 21-1(16) is not on Joshua’s radar – Joshua, as we know, wants that massive fight with Tyson Fury – and he will never get his chance to live up to his bold prediction of taking AJ out in a round. Instead, Bakole has Ajagba to deal with, and this fight could prove to be a tough one for both men. If Bakole can get the win, then he can begin calling in earnest for a world title shot.
What happens in sparring stays in sparring, or at least it should. But Bakole says he twice busted Dubois’ nose in sparring and knocked him out. Who knows for sure how the spars actually went? But if Bakole beats Ajagba, and if Dubois retains his IBF title against Joseph Parker next month, it seems we will see Dubois and Bakole get it on for real. And what a fight that one could be.
