Martin Bakole picked up the biggest win of his career battering 2016 Olympic Gold Medallist Tony Yoka in Paris last night.
The rearranged bout looked a well-matched headline event which would show how far Yoka could go in the sport. Bakole, originally from Congo, but now lives his life in Scotland trained by Billy Nelson paid no attention to reputations or to the fact he was looked at as a steppingstone. The 28-year-old dominated the ten rounds dropping the Frenchman in the first and fifth rounds.
It was a stunning performance from Bakole who was too big, too powerful and a problem that Yoka couldn’t handle.
Yoka looked for his jab to work a way back into the fight but the bodywork of Bakole, who then bloodied the nose of his opponent, was breaking Yoka’s spirit. The problems were growing for the home favourite and he had little answer to them.
A despondent Yoka showed bravery throughout but was found wanting and any world title aspirations appear to be beyond his reach.
Despite Bakole’s dominance in a fight where Yoka was lucky to win one round, let alone two, the judges somehow decided the opposite. 96-92, 95-93 and a baffling 94-94 were read out. The scoring was nothing short of deluded and disgraceful, but a jubilant Bakole didn’t care at that moment. The WBA number nine contender is certainly a legitimate threat to anyone looking to dethrone the heavyweight hierarchy.