Frank Warren has come out swinging for his heavyweight charge Daniel Dubois following rumours of a brutal sparring session.
Dubois, 27, is in the form of his life. He bounced back from defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in his first world title attempt by beating Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic to become Interim IBF Champion.
When the Ukrainian vacated the title, Dubois was elevated to full champion and made a statement first defence by knocking out Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium.
Talk has turned to who he will face next, and one top contender in Martin Bakole believed he won’t get a look in due to their time in the gym together. Speaking to IFL TV, Bakole revealed details on a sparring session with the young champion.
“I broke his nose twice and stopped him. That’s not a lie. He will never come say I’m lying.”
Speaking to Box Nation, Warren targeted Bakole and his trainer Billy Nelson for repeating the claim.
“He’s not avoided, it’s what you bring to the table. What do you bring to the table? I’ve heard all this stuff about the sparring, Billy Nelson coming out with all his bulls**t. I mean [Bakole] came down without Billy Nelson a couple of times. I was speaking to Martin Bowers [Dubois’ former trainer] and what I’ve heard about the sparring, and I heard it at the time, is what I believe. All this nonsense that Billy comes out with, he broke his nose twice, he’s never had a broken nose. We’ve never pulled him out of a fight with a broken nose. It’s just bulls**t.”
Big-punching Bakole, who is currently ranked number 1 with the WBA, is proving himself to be a boogeyman in the heavyweight ranks. Both Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang have opted out of orders to face him in a final eliminator for the IBF mandatory slot. He is now set to face Efe Ajagba for the same honour.
Warren is willing to take a bet from Nelson if Bakole does earn his shot at Dubois.
“If the fight happens it happens. And I’ll tell you what, he said he wanted to bet me two hundred grand. When that fight happens I’m gonna hold him to that. That’s if it happens by the way. If he gets his eliminator and Daniel’s where he’s at, then fine he’s got that belt all day long.”
In the meantime, Dubois is slated to defend his title against Joseph Parker in February of 2025 with an official confirmation expected soon.
