Joshua backs Bakole to bounce back after KO
Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has backed Martin Bakole to recover from his second-round knockout loss to Joseph Parker at Riyadh Season’s The Last Crescendo on Saturday night, NewsNGR Sports Extra reports.
Bakole, who stepped in as a late replacement for ill IBF champion Daniel Dubois with just two days’ notice, saw his world title ambitions suffer a setback as Parker dominated their brief encounter on the Dmitry Bivol-Artur Beterbiev undercard.
“Bakole believes in himself and he’s got every right to. He’s a serious fighter. That’s not the end, this is the heavyweight division,” Joshua told The Stomping Ground.
The defeat has cast doubt over Bakole’s planned IBF title eliminator against Nigeria’s Efe Ajagba, which was scheduled for May in New York.
Joshua, who was part of DAZN’s broadcasting team in Riyadh, emphasised the unpredictable nature of heavyweight boxing.
“There is an element of skill, but what makes the heavyweight division so interesting is that it takes one punch to change the course of a fight,” he added.
“Regardless if Bakole had five days or five weeks, that punch from a heavyweight knocks down or knocks out anyone. We’re just too powerful.”
The Congolese fighter had emerged as one of the division’s most feared contenders following his impressive fifth-round demolition of previously unbeaten American prospect Jared Anderson in California last August.
After that victory, Bakole boldly declared, “You don’t stand with Martin Bakole. I am a big man and I am a machine. No one wants to fight me.”
However, his decision to face Parker rather than wait for the Ajagba bout has proven costly, with the International Boxing Federation now uncertain about how to proceed with picking their mandatory challenger.
“If he’s got it in him to fight again, I’m sure he will. He’s a great addition to the division, so let’s see him roll the dice again,” Joshua said.
The loss marks a significant setback for Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs), while Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs), who has won his last five fights since suffering his lone professional defeat to Frank Sanchez in October 2021, must now wait to see how his path to a world title shot unfolds.
