Martin Bakole has intriguing tales from training with the top heavyweights, including hurting Anthony Joshua in sparring.
The 31-year-old scored the win of his career on the stage he had been crying out for this month, stunting the rise of America’s next heavyweight hope Jared Anderson with a brutal performance culminating in a fifth round stoppage.
For Bakole and the people around him, it was a long time coming. He has branded himself ‘the most avoided man on the planet’ and believes the top fighters in the division won’t sign to fight him because of what he has shown in training sessions with them.
In a recent interview with TalkSPORT, Bakole reeled off the names he had done damage to behind closed doors.
“Ask anyone about me. Go ask Daniel Dubois about me, ask Joshua about me, ask Usyk about me, ask Tyson Fury about me, they will keep quiet. Nobody will say they gave me a hard time. I gave them all a hard time. I stopped Daniel Dubois twice, stopped Joe Joyce and Joshua oh, that was a big one, he was hurt that day.”
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, spoke to Box Nation about the Congolese heavyweight and confirmed that he had witnessed him spar his charge ‘AJ’. Hearn branded the sessions ‘wars’, signalling that they were much closer than Bakole may suggest.
“I think he’s had some great spars. I’ve seen him spar AJ. Wars. I don’t know, he dropped Usyk did he? Or he dropped Dubois or whatever? I’m sure he’s capable of dropping anyone … Sometimes you go into a spar, you get hurt, maybe you’re not switched on, maybe you’ve got a little niggle. It’s boxing.”
Bakole is adamant that Joshua will never face him because of what’s happened in the gym in the past. While he is on the rise in the heavyweight ranks, Joshua has his focus on becoming a three-time heavyweight champion against Daniel Dubois and then facing the winner of the rematch between Usyk and Tyson Fury.
