Fans want to see Martin Bakole back in the ring as soon as possible but whether or not he can find a suitable dance partner remains to be seen.
The Congo-born heavyweight has long branded himself the division’s danger man but didn’t have a statement performance on the big stage to back it up, only plenty of sparring stories in which he hurt his rivals.
That all changed in August when he was matched with rising American star Jared Anderson. Bakole absolutely battered the 24-year-old before stopping him in the fifth.
It was a performance indicative of a man who has gotten the better of a number of top heavyweights in sparring, and Bakole has since been mentioned alongside Zhilei Zhang for an intriguing bout that is sure not to go the distance.
However, Michael Hunter was the first name on his lips post-fight, and he has since doubled down on that in an interview with BOXXER.
“That’s not a fight, that’s a war, because I will smash him from the first round until the tenth round. If I knock him out I’ll tell him to stand up. Keep going. Revenge. And then I will knock him out, round ten.”
The pair have previous, with Hunter being the only loss on Bakole’s record. The American, a former cruiserweight, beat Bakole by tenth and final round stoppage back in 2018. Bakole injured his shoulder in the eighth.
Despite having the clear goal of avenging that loss, it’s unlikely to happen next, if at all. Hunter’s campaign at heavyweight has stagnated and his recent wins don’t match that of Bakole’s. A big fight in Saudi Arabia is much more likely for the in-form thudding puncher, and fans want it to be against Zhang.
