Former WBO cruiserweight champion, Johnny Nelson, has drawn comparisons between a current heavyweight contender and the legendary George Foreman, who reigned as champion in both the 1970’s and 1990’s.
Nelson, who holds the record for the longest reign as cruiserweight champion, now works as a pundit and it was Martin Bakole, who recently signed to fight on the channel through their partnership with BOXXER, who reminded ‘The Entertainer’ of the formidable ‘Big’ George.
In an interview wih Sky Sports, Nelson spoke of his admiration for the Congolese heavyweight, following Bakole’s third round knockout victory over Ihor ‘Hulk’ Shevadzutskyi in Poland on Saturday night.
“I don’t see many of the big names in the division fighting Bakole by choice.”
“You look at him and see that he is big, strong and rugged but he completely beat up Shevadzutskyi on Saturday night. That wasn’t just big and strong, it was calculated.”
“It reminded me of George Foreman, if I am honest. Bakole looks beatable but you don’t realise how strong he is and his skill is probably underrated. He can definitely box. It might not be the smoothest or the slickest but there is method to his madness.”
Dillian Whyte was also in attendance, in support of Alen Babic, and clashed with Bakole backstage, and as nothing sells quite like bad blood, the two are now being linked with a fight.
However, as Nelson suggests in his interview, Bakole does not have the star power to command fights against the top competitors, despite him calling out Deontay Wilder after his victory. So it’s hard to imagine Whyte taking a bout with little reward other than a move up the rankings, especially when he’s in line to fight Anthony Joshua this summer.
