Martin Bakole has broken the golden rule of sparring by claiming to have stopped both Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.
Many fighters shy away from broadcasting details of training camps and gym sessions, but the Congolese heavyweight who resides in Scotland had no issues with discussing his time with Unified World Champion, Usyk, and WBA Regular belt holder, Dubois.
Bakole (18-1, 13 KOs) recently signed with BOXXER and Sky Sports, and was part of the punditry team on their recent Paris card that saw Tony Yoka lose to Carlos Takam, failing to bounce back from a Bakole defeat.
After the fight, talk turned to Bakole and his plans. The 29-year-old said he wanted to face Dubois next, but that he had made the mistake of putting him off in sparring – and the same goes for Usyk.
“Daniel Dubois is the fight I want. I’ve sparred him twice and I stopped him twice in sparring. He knows that. If we fight, I think I stop him in the first or second round.”
“I’m calling him out and I want him to be ready for me. I want that fight, I can’t wait. People are hiding because they don’t want to fight me because i made the mistake from sparring them in the gym … Even Usyk, I stopped him in sparring in Dubai, he knows that.”
Dubois and Bakole have sparred as early as 2017, and likely again since. Usyk had him in camp to prepare for his rematch with Anthony Joshua – a fight he won by split decision to keep hold of the heavyweight titles.
If there’s truth to the tales, Tyson Fury might want to pick Bakole’s brain. ‘The Gypsy King’ has recently verbally agreed terms to face Usyk for all the heavyweight belts.
Bakole’s win over Yoka was in May of 2022, and he’ll be looking to get out soon to christen his new promotional partnership.
His one professional loss was in the form of a tenth round stoppage against Michael Hunter, and it’s something he’s keen to avenge.
BOXXER also have Joseph Parker under their banner, who needs a statement win if he wants to get back to the top level of the division. It’s a fight fans could see in the future.