Anthony Joshua may have found his next opponent.
‘AJ’ suffered a shock fifth round knockout defeat against newly crowned IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium last September, but has confirmed he will be making a return to the sport this year.
It was heavily speculated that the 35-year-old would be facing Tyson Fury next until ‘The Gypsy King’ announced his retirement from boxing at the beginning of January.
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The man standing opposite Joshua in his next contest could have just been revealed though, after a heavyweight powerhouse claimed he has had his next fight confirmed by Turki Alalshikh.
Martin Bakole has picked up 21 wins in 22 professional contests, securing 16 knockout victories in the process and is on a run of three stoppages all inside six rounds. His last outing came in August when he blasted out highly rated American prospect Jared Anderson inside five rounds.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Bakole – who has picked up the tag of the most avoided man in the division – revealed he has been advised by Alalshikh that his next fight will come against two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in Africa.
“I love that fight, and I would like to say thank you to [His] Excellency because he’s behind this. He said ‘Martin we have a big fight in America, finish with [Efe] Ajagba and then Anthony Joshua is next in Africa.’
“Even I heard Anthony Joshua said he needs to fight in Africa, so all he need was a promoter or someone to promote that fight. Between me and him in Africa that will be a good fight.”
Bakole has also secured impressive wins against Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka in 2022 and Carlos Takam in 2023. His maiden career defeat came at the hands of Michael Hunter, who stopped him in the final round of their fight back in October 2018.
