Martin Bakole is expected to be rewarded with a “big” heavyweight fight in New York in May after his defeat with direct elimination against Joseph Parker on Saturday.
Bakole flew to Riyadh two days to replace the IBF champion Daniel Dubois after the Briton fell ill before his defense of the title.
The Congolese fighter underwent a brutal defeat of Ko in the second round against Parker, but his promoter Ben Shalom will not have to wait long to put his career on the right track.
Shalom says Sky Sports News: “Martin wanted to seize a great opportunity to save the show. It was always a massive risk, and I do not know any other fighter on the planet that would have done this.
“But he wanted the fight on the assurance of fighting in a big fight in May with an opinion.
“We always believe that he is the most dangerous heavy goods vehicle on the planet and he will show it with a training camp for his next fight.”
Before accepting to take Parker, Bakole was to face his EFE Ajagba heavyweight colleague in an IBF eliminator to obtain a future shot for Dubois.
Please use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Here’s why nobody wants to fight Bakole
We still do not know how IBF will see Bakole’s decision to face Parker rather than waiting for the eliminator against Ajagba.
Before his defeat against Parker, Bakole (21-2) had formed the reputation of being one of the most dangerous and most avoided fighters in the heavyweight division.
He had made a sequence of 10 successive victories after a defeat in 2018 against Michael Hunter, the last of which was an impressive victory in August 2024 against the American prospect Jared Anderson.
