George Foreman is a name revered in the heavyweight division.
A few fights after losing to Muhammad Ali, the thudding puncher from Marshall, Texas had a religious epiphany and retired to become an ordained minister. He would return ten years later and, at the age of 45, win the world heavyweight title against Michael Moorer.
A brutal slugger with great balance, Foreman had a near 90% knockout-to-fight ratio. He retired for the final time in 1997 with a record of 76 wins and just five losses.
Will there ever be a fighter like him? In a post on X, Martin Bakole proudly took up that mantle.
“No one can run away from this. This is big machine, Martin Bakole. Knockout machine. The next and the future Foreman. Next year is my year. Daniel Dubois, be ready. Joshua, you got knocked out, out of the line. Tyson Fury, Usyk, I’ll be number one next year.”
The Congolese-born boxer has long claimed to be the most avoided man in the division – something both his promoter and trainer agree with – saying that none of the top men will fight him due to his destructive performances when sparring them. His latest bout – a five round demolition of highly-touted young heavyweight Jared Anderson – was a good step to proving himself on the biggest stage.
That performance was indicative of ‘Big’ George Foreman in a few ways, particularly how Bakole let the 24-year-old heavyweight’s puches bounce off him before throwing shots that looked devastating even without much effort behind them.
Now, after Bakole claims fellow hard-hitter Zhilei Zhang ducked a fight with him, he has been ordered to face Agit Kabayel by the IBF, the winner becoming mandatory challenger for champion Daniel Dubois.
“So now I’m focused on Agit Kabayel. Kabayel, be ready. Big thank you to the IBF for giving me this opportunity, I’m looking forward to being number one next year. Kabayel, you’re going to get it. Knockout.”
