How good is Martin Bakole?

By Daniele D’Alessio

Martin Bakole broke American hearts with his five-round demolition job of Jared Anderson on August 3. The Congolese heavyweight was finally given the opportunity to fight a highly-rated opponent and produced an emphatic performance. 

A showing that not only caught the attention of the rest of the division but made fans question whether all those sparring stories with Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua, and Daniel Dubois were true.

Professional boxing is filled with smoke and mirrors. It is a sport driven by perception and opinion. Going into the contest, Anderson was touted as the next American heavyweight champion of the world—one whom many believed was too talented for the relatively unknown Bakole.

At the grand arrival, Anderson danced to the music like victory was assured. Yet on fight night, it didn’t take long for Bakole to knock him down in the first round and give him a rude awakening before dropping him twice more in the fifth to seal the stoppage.

With three American judges scoring the bout, Bakole was unlikely to win on points in a close encounter, but any potential for controversy evaporated with Anderson’s punch resistance.

Bakole’s trainer, Billy Nelson, has been relentless in his praise for his fighter over the last few years. Nelson’s interviews with media outlets were meme-like—entertaining yet not taken seriously. However, with Bakole impressing his excellency watching from ringside, he is likely to have another big fight as part of Riyadh season. And Nelson’s comments might need to be taken with a smaller pinch of salt.

Still, Bakole doesn’t have a list of top-quality wins on his resume. The 32-year-old suffered a tenth-round stoppage defeat to Michael Hunter in 2018. A loss, in hindsight, that slowed down the progression of his career. Especially as Hunter has gone on to draw with an over-the-hill Alexander Povetkin and Jerry Forrest – an opponent he already beat in his fifth pro fight.

Bakole initially impressed by defeating an undefeated Tony Yoka in France until the former Olympian lost two consecutive bouts thereafter. Meanwhile, a fourth-round stoppage of Carlos Takam in his early 40s served mostly as a recognisable name on his record, even though he did take care of the veteran in quicker fashion than Joshua, Joseph Parker, and Dereck Chisora.

No one knows the full story, yet Bakole’s recent victory over Anderson and his struggle to land meaningful fights may coincide with his avoidability in the heavyweight division. The ‘who needs him club’ is rife in boxing, particularly when you’re someone like Bakole, who, from the eye test, has the potential to give any of the elite heavyweights a tough night’s work yet lacks the following to be considered a worthwhile risk.

An enormous man who has weighed in over 275 lbs in his last five fights, mixed with a solid work rate, punch selection, power, and strong chin, you probably don’t need to have a sparring session with Bakole to know he’s not easy to beat.

Bakole is ranked number one in the WBA and number six in the WBC rankings. Therefore, if the mammoth heavyweight is going to get a world title shot, it might be against the winner of the Fury-Usyk rematch scheduled for December. A bout with either fighter would show where Bakole stands in the heavyweight landscape.

Regardless, with Turki Alalshikh pulling the strings and continuing to put on phenomenal boxing cards, Bakole’s days as an outsider might be coming to an end. In hindsight, it’s surprising that a 24-year-old prospect like Anderson chose to share the ring with a monster like Bakole. Yet boxing is a business and ‘The Real Big Baby’ must have had quite a lot of financial incentive.

Three years ago, someone like Bakole would struggle to get their foot in the door. But with Turki, there are astronomical purses on the line and this might be enough to tempt another highly-ranked heavyweight to box Bakole. This includes those who have already appeared in Riyadh season like Agit Kabayel, Zhilei Zhang, and Joseph Parker, who don’t have a title shot coming up any time soon but could entertain a big fight on a big card.

Overall, Bakole has not proven himself as one of the elite heavyweights yet. However, his win over Anderson could be the catalyst his career needed.