Daniel Dubois has been the subject of sparring stories once again.
The newly-elevated IBF World Champion has worked in the gym with a majority of the top heavyweights and was recently warned by Filip Hrgovic in the build-up to their fight that it would be reminiscent of an old spar in which he got the better of the Brit.
Dubois flipped the script and stopped Hrgovic to take his belt, proving what happens behind closed doors doesn’t necessarily translate to action under the lights. That hasn’t stopped Martin Bakole now telling tales.
The Congolese-born heavyweight returns to the ring this weekend against rising American heavyweight star Jared Anderson.
A big believer that he’s the most avoided fighter in the heavyweight division, Bakole fight week is never complete without his infamous sparring stories. His most recent claim is that he broke the nose of Dubois twice and the Brit refused to train with him again.
Promoter Frank Warren, who has guided Dubois from prospect to champion, told Box Nation it’s ‘bulls**t’ but welcomes a future fight.
“What I understand he says is he’s knocked him out once or twice in sparring and broke his nose twice in sparring. Jesus. They must’ve been serious spars… It’s bulls**t. We’ll see what he’s about [on Saturday night] and I haven’t got a problem with Daniel fighting him down the road. I haven’t got as high an opinion of Martin Bakole as Martin Bakole has of himself.”
The Bakole-Anderson match-up – one of the most intriguing in the division outside of the world title picture – presents an opportunity for Bakole to get the big fights he has been chasing.
Warren said Anderson, 24, would have to be at his best to get the victory.
“Bakole – we’ll see what he’s all about. Bakole’s a tough guy. Not the fastest of heavyweights so it’s going to be interesting to see how he deals with that. He’s not the most mobile. But Jared’s going to have to be at his best.”
The fight takes place on this weekend’s Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov card. Dubois returns to the ring on September 21 to defend his new belt against Anthony Joshua.
