Martin Bakole Calls Out Anthony Joshua: ‘Come and fight an African giant in boxing’

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Heavyweight contender who allegedly stopped Oleksander Usyk in a sparring session, Martin Bakole, has called out Anthony Joshua who knocked out Cameroonian and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a boxing match.

Joshua struck Ngannou down thrice during their encounter, stopping the ex-UFC juggernaut in less than two rounds.

Congo’s Bakole simply dismissed Joshua’s match against Ngannou with few words by pointing out why himself was the African giant in boxing whom Joshua should face.

‘He starts thinking and looking about money before he faces people like us,’ Bakole told iFL TV.

‘To knock Ngannou out, yeah, he has done well.

‘Ngannou has done well in MMA, but not in boxing. If you want to fight an African giant, I am Martin Bakole, number one with the WBA, he is coming in at number two.

‘If you want to fight in the Congo, in Nigera, in Africa, you should fight me, not Ngannou.

‘Much respect to Ngannou, but this I need to make clear, Anthony Joshua – come and fight an African giant in boxing, Martin Bakole.’

Many traditional fans of boxing were consoled by Joshua’s remarkable victory over the hard-hitting MMA champion, having been surprised last year when Ngannou nearly beat WBC heavyweight kingpin Tyson Fury while still debuting.

Bakole is famously among the most-avoided in the heavyweight division. His claims of beating Usyk twice have been refuted by an insider from Usyk’s camp, but in an unclear manner.

Speaking sometime last year, Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk said the following to Sky Sports:

‘Bakole is a great kid. He was Usyk’s best sparring partner within last three training camps.

‘But I heard him stopping Usyk just once, and he stopped him from knocking Bakole out.’

Next up for Joshua are bouts against either Filip Hrgovic, IBF’s mandatory challenger, or whoever wins the undisputed world heavyweight bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksander Usyk.