Martin Bakole has been desperate for the opportunity to prove his skills throughout his career and on Saturday night he took advantage of his long-awaited chance on the big stage. Now, with respect earned across the pond, Bakole has named a three-man hitlist for his next contest.
The Congolese contender has been competing in the heavyweight division for over a decade now, but his progress was stunted when he was knocked out by Michael Hunter back in 2018. However, victory over Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka in 2022 seemed to birth the beginning of a second run at the world titles.
The now 32-year-old earned back-to-back stoppage wins over Ihor Shevadzutskyi and Carlos Takam and travelled stateside for a showdown against highly-rated American prospect Jared Anderson this past weekend, with many fans in the U.S. believing that he would prove no match for ‘The Real Big Baby’.
Shockingly, it was Anderson who looked helpless as Bakole upset the odds in style, dropping the rising superstar on three occasions before securing the knockout in round five, becoming a world title threat overnight.
In an interview with BoxNation, Martin Bakole revealed three names who he is now looking towards for his next test, aiming to prove that the newfound hype surrounding him is correctly placed.
“I think so [Zhilei Zhang would be a good opponent], I think that is where I belong. I understand [Jared Anderson] saying yes to fighting me, he is young and he believes in himself but in my opinion, this was too early for him because I am not at this level. I deserve to be in with [Oleksandr] Usyk, Tyson [Fury], Joe Joyce, Zhang, Agit Kabayel, Joseph Parker – this is where I belong.
“I am so happy that His Excellency is behind me and my team, so I think that I will get a ‘big fish’ and the big name that I have always been looking for.
“It is Parker, Kabayel or big Zhang. These are the people that I am looking for, because we are all in the top ten [rankings].”
Due to his recent success, Bakole went on to admit that he is focussed on the future and potential scraps with the biggest names in the division rather than dwelling on the past – indicating that he is not likely to rematch Michael ‘The Bounty’ Hunter any time soon.
“Not now, [I wouldn’t rematch Michael Hunter], it’s not the fight that I am looking for right now but if it happens, I am ready to face Michael Hunter, but he is not ready. We will always say yes to the fight and he will say ‘no, I am not ready’ but in social media he is always talking.”
The bout marked consecutive outings on Turki Al-Alshikh cards for Bakole and with Usyk-Fury II poised to go ahead in December, Bakole will be hopeful that he can appear on the undercard and steal the show once again.
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