Martin Bakole has told Anthony Joshua he’ll knock him out in a single round as he accused the former heavyweight world champion of “talking nonsense”.
Bakole, who was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo but moved to Airdrie to boost his pro boxing career in 2016 and has joked that he sees himself as half-Scottish, was left fuming with Joshua after he tipped Efe Ajagba for victory against Bakole when the pair do battle in a hotly anticipated IBF heavyweight title eliminator in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, later this year. The clash will see Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) and Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) face off to determine who the mandatory challenger for IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois is.
Dubois demolished fellow Brit Joshua in five rounds in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in September, with the 27-year-old dropping the 35-year-old multiple times to retain the IBF heavyweight title. And Rangers fan Bakole, ranked at No.3 by the IBF, now wants the opportunity to take on Joshua himself – after being enraged by comments he made previewing the challenger fight.
Joshua is currently in Nigeria where his mum is from, with his dad also having Nigerian ancestry and speaking to Voice-Online he said: “Two giants of Africa coming together to collide. It’s going to be an interesting fight. Efe is a good boxer, and obviously, I’m going to support Efe, even though he doesn’t support me. I’m backing him because we are from the same place, and I really want to see him do well.”
In a video posted on social media site X, Bakole hits back: “Hey Anthony Joshua, this video is for you. I wanted to call you out, you’re talking s*** about Ajagba 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, I want to knock you out. Look at Daniel Dubois, I broke his nose twice (when sparring) and he knocked you out cold. I will knock you out in the first round. We’re talking about Ajagba, Ajagba is a baby wait until you see how I’m going to knock him out. I invite you to be there, you’re taking s*** I want to fight you. Stop talking nonsense.
“Now you’re in Nigeria you’re not British anymore. I’m an African giant. After knocking Ajagba out I will knock you out as well.”