Tony Bellew has a keen eye on the heavyweight division and its biggest players.
Bellew himself twice fought and won in the division, both against David Haye, a man who was one of the best cruiserweights in the world and who also managed to win a world title in the banner division.
Since then, the landscape changed greatly. Bellew’s friend Anthony Joshua has been dethroned, as has fellow Brit Tyson Fury.
Both Brits lost two fights each to Oleksandr Usyk, who established himself as the undisputed champion, and also saw off the threat of young star Daniel Dubois in August 2023.
One man who has emerged and is keen to get his shot at a title is Martin Bakole. His best wins have come over the likes of Carlos Takam and hot American prospect Jared Anderson. He has called out just about every man in the division and has claimed he has given rough times to Dubois, Usyk and Joshua in sparring.
Speaking to SportingTalk, however, Bellew thinks he may be overrated given that he lost to a naturally smaller man in Michael Hunter many years ago.
“This tag of the bogeyman of the heavyweight division, I just think it’s a bit of nonsense really. I think he’s a really good fighter, I’m not saying he’s not, I think he’s strong. But I think you’re blowing a bit of smoke when you say he’s the most avoided heavyweight in the world. One big win over the likes of Jared Anderson is not gonna make you a world beater.”
“I think he’s a good fighter but I think he might even be a tad overrated because purely for the life of me I can’t understand why he wouldn’t want to run it back with Michael Hunter. If I was beaten in a close fight by anyone I’d run it back.”
Bakole is a number one ranked contender and has another chance to prove himself when he takes on Efe Ajabe in a final eliminator for a shot at the IBF belt, currently in possession of Dubois.
