Anthony Joshua‘s future should be confirmed soon.
His next move is yet to be officially announced after losing to Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title in September. It was hoped he would take on Tyson Fury in a huge domestic battle, but those plans were scuppered when Fury announced his retirement last month.
Instead, Joshua has been rumoured to be lined up for a clash against Martin Bakole, the big-punching Congo man who deems himself as ‘the most avoided heavyweight in the division.’
Joshua and Bakole have been linked with one another for a number of years, with Bakole claiming he had ‘AJ’ hurt during an infamous sparring session.
Bakole’s promoter Ben Shalom spoke about the proposed match-up last week, stating that the fight between ‘AJ’ and Bakole has already been signed.
“The promoter of Martin Bakole, that’s what I want to be known as. The number one heavyweight in the world. It’s done. I’m hearing he’s signed and we’re off to the Congo.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has now hit back at those claims, telling Matchroom Boxing that it isn’t true and the fight has not been signed.
“The social media rumour mill is always 10% true. The latest one, someone sent it me on Saturday. ‘Bakole Joshua is done and signed.’ We’ve not had one conversation about that fight. I’m not ruling it out but it’s not ever been a conversation. I don’t know where that one came from.”
Before Bakole can even think about potentially facing Joshua, he must first take on Efe Ajagba in May, and an interesting development around Derek Chisora’s fight with Otto Wallin this weekend could end up being an important factor on Bakole’s next move.
