Martin Bakole stepped in for Daniel Dubois to face Joseph Parker last minute, though the fight didn’t go his way, Bakole insists he is still a force to be reckoned with.
Martin Bakole landed in Saudi Arabia on the morning of his fight with Joseph Parker. He had no training camp, and weighed in at 315 pounds.
Though out of shape and unfit, Bakole rolled the dice against a skilled operator in Parker, but fell short where it counted as Parker stopped Bakole in the second round.
Eddie Hearn has blasted Bakole’s team’s decision to take the fight, but he isn’t the only promoter that’s been critical of Bakole.
Frank Warren was never convinced Martin Bakole is a monster, Bakole responds
In an interview with Box Nation, Frank Warren said: “We’ll see if he is what everyone says he is, when I say everybody I mean everybody outside the trade, not a lot of people in the trade have that same opinion.”
“I ain’t getting fooled by the [Jared Anderson] result, that’s for sure. […] That certainly doesn’t make him a world beater.”
Bakole has since hit back at these views in his own interview with Box Nation, in which he says:
“I’m eight years today in the UK, I never fight someone like a Joe Joyce or Daniel Dubois, but why you say if people think I’m a boogeyman, I’m dangerous and you think I’m not, then put me in with one of your boxers.”
He concludes: “That’s disrespectful and I am a boogeyman.”
Bakole first made a statement when he stopped Roy Jones Jr.’s prsopect, Jared Anderson.
Martin Bakole says he stopped Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk in sparring
Despite coming up short on Saturday night, Bakole maintains he is a fierce contender, and has previously spoken on the time he stopped both Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk in sparring.
Usyk and Dubois are currently the only two reigning heavyweight champions and are likely to fight in a rematch of their previous match, which saw Usyk drop to the canvas after a controversial low-blow.
Speaking on the stories, Bakole said: “They never come back to say that I’m lying. […] I don’t lie. […] They’re avoiding me now, they know the reason why.”
Though he fell short, Bakole’s bravery is to be commended, and he will be back in May to face Efe Ajagba in Times Square.