Both Martin Bakole and Zhilei Zhang have proven themselves as worthy heavyweight title contenders over the last eighteen months, scoring stunning knockout wins and soaring up the rankings. As a result, the pair were expected to collide in a bout to determine which power-puncher would challenge for world honours, but Bakole has now claimed that Zhang has ‘ran’ from the fight.
After sensationally halting Joe Joyce on two occasions during 2023, big things were expected of Zhang in 2024, but Joseph Parker derailed the ‘Big Bang’ hype train with a points victory in March.
However, Zhang was able to bounce back from the defeat in style as he dominated and decimated former WBC champion Deontay Wilder less than three months later.
Meanwhile, Martin Bakole has often been overlooked and dismissed as a contender in recent years but an upset knockout victory over highly-rated American Jared Anderson shocked the boxing world and made everyone take notice of the Congolese combatant back in June.
During the aftermath of that win, Bakole’s trainer Billy Nelson declared that his fighter will be fighting for world honours in two fights’ time and welcomed a showdown with Zhang on the Fury-Usyk II undercard.
“I think that there is a very good chance that it could be Zhang. That is the fight that His Excellency wants and if that is what His Excellency wants – that is what he will get.
“I think that I would be very confident after this next fight [potentially with Zhang], that the next fight would be [for] a world title. After this fight, the WBO and certainly the WBA is due their mandatories and we would be number one in the WBA and God willing, if we win in December, we would be pushing real hard to get that world title fight because we will then deserve it.”
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.
Yesterday, the IBF ordered a final eliminator between Bakole and Germany’s Agit Kabayel to determine who will become the mandatory challenger for Daniel Dubois’ world title and although many believe Zhang to be China’s fearless bogeyman, Bakole told social media that the fan-favourite 41-year-old has turned down the fight.
#zhang come and get your shoes 👟🤣 #kabayel be ready 🔥👊 pic.twitter.com/OFLb4CWT8H
— Martin Bakole (@MartinBakole01) October 9, 2024
“I am in Congo right now, training hard for big Zhang and I just heard that Zhang has said no to the fight and that he has forgotten his shoes. Big Zhang, come and get your shoes man, stop running away!
“I know that your team is protecting you, they don’t want you to get knocked out, so now I am focussed on Agit Kabayel.
“Kabayel, be ready.”
It is unclear whether Bakole-Kabayel could become a late addition to the recently announced Fury-Usyk II undercard, but it is a fight that is likely to land on a ‘Riyadh Season’ event – given the success that both men have had on Turki Al-Alshikh’s blockbuster cards.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.