Eddie Hearn is offered Martin Bakole as a substitute to fight Dillian Whyte

Trainer Billy Nelson revealed he has offered the services of talented heavyweight Martin Bakole to Eddie Hearn, to fill the void left by Covid-afflicted Alexander Povetkin against Dillian Whyte on November 21.

Nelson told our YouTube channel that while the likeable Congolese fighter he also manages would jump at the chance to oppose Whyte on Sky Sports Box Office, he did not expect Bakole to get the main event slot.

“I spoke to Eddie yesterday and said we’d be more than happy to step in,” said Nelson who, in the full video, also talks about Bakole’s December 12 showdown with Sergey Kuzmin, sparring with Joe Joyce as the latter gets ready for Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury vs Agit Kabayel. “But, in fairness, it is a pay-per-view show and Martin’s maybe not pap-per-view criteria, as yet.
“Michael Hunter has said he’d be more than happy to take it, but I think they’ll just wait and rearrange the fight. If Dillian Whyte were to lose against somebody on a few weeks’ notice, he’s right down the pecking order then. If I was his manager, I wouldn’t be taking a substitute opponent.”

Hunter, Bakole’s only pro conqueror, and Whyte’s old foe Dereck Chisora have both volunteered to step in versus Whyte but, as Nelson suggests, all three seem high-risk options at just two-and-a-half weeks’ notice.