Heavyweight powerhouse or, as his promoter Ben Shalom refers to him, “absolute beast,” Martin Bakole arrived on the big stage in style on Saturday night. As fans who tuned in to watch the massive card in Los Angeles know, the Congolese-born big man took down promising US heavyweight Jared Anderson, this via 5th-round stoppage. And while Anderson’s career is now in tatters, Bakole has a lot of options.
Bakole, a huge man with deceptively fast hands, a good engine, and, of course, raw power, feels he can go all the way and become world heavyweight champion. As fast as the sport of boxing moves these days, talk has already begun as far as who Bakole could fight next. Eddie Hearn said that if he were guiding Bakole, he would look to get him a fight with either Zhilei Zhang (yes, please!) or Agit Kabayel (another interesting match-up that could happen, maybe on another big Saudi show).
But Shalom, speaking with IFL TV, said his warrior has his eyes firmly on the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury rematch that is scheduled to take place on December 21. Shalom, who said Anderson’s people made a mistake in putting him in with Bakole, says he is certain there will be cynics who sneer at the idea of Bakole beating either Usyk or Fury but that he knows how good, how dangerous, his fighter really is.
“Our eyes are genuinely on Fury and Usyk in December; that’s where we think Martin has to be,” Shalom said. “Everyone will laugh, as they have done all [the way through] his career, but he just has to keep beating the next man, beating the next man, beating the next man…….and he will become world champion.”
For sure, nobody is laughing at Bakole now, not at all. At a solid 284 pounds, Bakole showed how dangerous he was against Anderson. Now having won 10 in a row since his sole loss, this a stoppage defeat (shoulder injury) to Michael Hunter back in October of 2018, 32 year old Bakole is 21-1(16) overall. Also adding to the Bakole story are the claims he “KO’d Usyk” in sparring some years back.
As of right now, Bakole is one of the most interesting heavyweights out there. With an easygoing personality, a generally fan-friendly style, and KO power, the 6’6” “beast” has also shown he can never be looked past again. Bakole has arrived, and he and his team feel he can and will go all the way. Don’t make the mistake Anderson did, and go ahead and bet against Bakole.
