Earlier this month, Oleksandr Usyk cemented himself as the best heavyweight fighter on the planet when he dominated Tyson Fury in their highly anticipated rematch.
Following their close inaugural meeting this past May, Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury knew they would end up meeting inside the ring again and they did so earlier this December.
The Ukrainian champion went on to pick up the dominant victory, showcasing why he is considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
Martin Bakole claims he ‘knocked out’ Oleksandr Usyk with a body shot in sparring
Following the fight, Usyk had an impromptu face-off with another former foe, Daniel Dubois. ‘Dynamite’ Dubois is scheduled to take on Joseph Parker this coming February and with a win, he could secure a rematch against Usyk.
The two first met back in 2023 when the Brit was sunk by a huge right hand in the ninth round. However, the fight was covered in controversy as Dubois did have the Ukrainian hurt with a huge body shot which sunk him to the ground.
Despite that, the strike was deemed to be a low blow which is still argued to this day, leaving the fight open to a rematch.
Another upcoming heavyweight who claims to have hurt Usyk to the body is Martin Bakole.
The WBO International heavyweight champion has previously sparred Usyk and claims that during one session, he ‘knocked out’ the fleet-footed heavyweight with a huge body shot.
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“I don’t lie, I don’t like to lie. I always tell the truth. If you watch BOXXER’S video you will see, I was live on Sky Sports and Oleksandr’s manager came behind me and said ‘This guy is going to be the world champion tomorrow’ because he knows who I am, he was in the gym when I gave Usyk a hard time,” Bakole told talkSPORT.
“Usyk never even touched me, I smashed him and knocked him out. I knocked him out with a body shot. I was getting out of the ring and they said he will need one week to recover,” Bakole continued.
What is next for Oleksandr Usyk?
Despite Bakole’s hopes that he’ll get to officially meet the Ukrainian in the ring, he will likely have to wait until Usyk makes a decision on his career.
The 37-year-old has not long returned home from his fight against ‘The Gypsy King’ and he is remaining coy regarding his next move. The aforementioned Dubois will likely come next if he remains at heavyweight, however, that may not be the case.
The former Cruiserweight champion sensationally teased that he may move back down to Cruiserweight to regain the title.
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