Martin Bakole has bashed Anthony Joshua, accusing him of ducking.
Bakole is considered one of the most dangerous boxers in the heavyweight division. He secured an upset win over Jared Anderson in his last fight. Anderson was considered as the future of the heavyweight division. But Bakole dropped him numerous times before getting a stoppage in the fifth. However, Bakole has struggled to get a big fight. He has called out Joshua on numerous occasions.
He said previously that he hurt Joshua while sparring. Meanwhile, the same was said when it came to Daniel Dubois. Now, Bakole has responded to AJ, who allegedly backed Efe Ajagba to beat Bakolie in their IBF title eliminator. Efe is 20-1-0 with 14 wins by knockout. His biggest win so far has arguably been Frank Sanchez. Bakole is his biggest test, raising questions over whether he can deliver. Bakole hit back at Joshua’s claims.
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“Hey, Anthony Joshua this video is for you. I called [you] out, I wanted to knock you out, and now you’re saying Ajagba is going to beat me. Shame on you. How many times did I call you out? How many times did I ask you to fight in Africa? You should feel ashamed of yourself. I want to fight you. Look at Daniel Dubois – I broke his nose twice [in sparring] and he knocked you out cold. I will knock you out in the first round. You’re talking about Ajagba? Ajagba is a baby, wait till you see how I’m going to knock him out,” Bakloe said
But Joshua’s focus is on facing Tyson Fury following the Dubois loss. Dubois dropped him three times on his way to a fifth-round stoppage. There were talks over a rematch, but it never happened. Dubois will now face Joseph Parker on February 22. A Joshua-Fury fight is the biggest bout out there, meaning Bakole may not get his shot.
Joshua will likely secure his career-highest purse for that fight, which could be his last. He also has more incentive to run things back with Dubois. Bakole does not offer Joshua any belts. But if Bakole becomes an interim champion for the IBF, he will be in a position to face Dubois. But for now, Joshua is eying Fury with a possible Dubois rematch. Eddie Hearn said as much.
“I think Tyson Fury is still potentially at the peak of his powers, just not good enough to be Oleksandr Usyk tonight. But for me, AJ against Fury is the one, it’s the one at Wembley, I’m going to be pushing His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] to make the fight, but that’s maybe one for another day, tonight belongs to Oleksandr Usyk. But Fury will struggle with this, I think. All fighters do, AJ struggled with the Dubois defeat as well, you’re a winner and when you get beat it hurts and this will hurt Fury,” Hearn said
