The joys of hindsight as Martin Bakole's 'Boogeyman' reputation damaged

After IBF heavyweight title holder Daniel Dubois withdrew from his title defence against Joseph Parker due to illness at the eleventh-hour last week, Congo native Martin Bakole stepping in on two days’ notice quickly became the main narrative in the lead up to Saturday’s huge bill in Riyadh.

In a storyline with more plot twists than an episode of Scooby Doo, Bakole flew from Congo to Ethiopia and then to Saudi, where he got in so late that he missed the official weigh-in.

 

Indeed, as Parker was weighing in at 267lbs and looking in magnificent shape, videos were emerging on social media of Bakole – on his own in skinny jeans and Gucci tee shirt - meandering through deserted airports alluding he would be there soon.

Bakole stands at a mammoth 6 ft 5 ins and weighed in at 284.4 lbs when he defeated Jared Anderson last August. However, the big man was significantly heavier on Saturday – had not done any sparring - and ultimately the concerns over his readiness to face the New Zealander were justified in the end as he was taken out in just five minutes and 17 seconds.

The result and indeed whole chain of events sparked a huge debate on social media. Plenty of people were praising Bakole’s cojones for the fact he rolled the dice and made a fortune in a matter of days.

Others pointed to the unfairness – in a purely sporting sense – that a fighter who has worked for years to get to a spot at the heavyweight top table should be fighting while so obviously out of shape and jet lagged.

Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing

Arguments raged back and forth online, and even promoter Eddie Hearn weighed in after telling The Stomping Ground: “I don't think the fight should have happened, if I'm honest.”

It’s worth pointing out that Hearn’s relationship with Bakole’s promoter Ben Shalom is less than cordial, but Hearn is certainly not wrong to wonder if it has done more harm than good for the star?

Shalom was on TalkSPORT last year saying he wanted Bakole to “become an ambassador for Africa”, and they had developed a brand with Bakole as a heavyweight straight from hell who was an avoided fighter.

The big man in the Big Apple must deliver

He had put together a streak of 10 successive wins following a 2018 defeat to Michael Hunter, the last of which was that impressive August 2024 demolition of American prospect Anderson.

Before agreeing to take on Parker, Bakole had been expected to face fellow heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba on May 2 in an IBF eliminator to earn a future shot at Dubois' title.

Team Bakole will insist they simply rolled the dice here. But their actions following the announcement that Parker was out injured also felt a bit impulsive.

I will hold my hands up and say I was someone who felt Bakole had a shot in this fight, purely because he has grenades in his gloves and the fact Parker is not hard to hit.

Boxing fans of a certain age will remember that 32/1 betting outsider Bert Cooper only had six days’ notice for a world heavyweight title fight with Evander Holyfield in the 1990s.

Back then Bert – knowing his worth as a last-minute replacement - was making $750,000 against Holyfield’s $6million.

Cooper, a blown-up cruiserweight with a cross-armed defence and substance misuse demons, almost hit the jackpot too in round three against ‘The Real Deal’ when he landed a barrage of shots, sending Evander down for the first time in his career.

He would ultimately be stopped himself in round seven, but I wondered whether Bakole could do it for Smokin' Bert and all the other underdogs out there?

Alas, my hopes were dashed (and Bakole bets covered) when I saw Bakole in the dressing room wearing Dubois’ gloves! Things had moved so fast in a couple of days that neither Bakole nor trainer Billy Nelson (who had arrived in Saudi separately) had been able to source a pair of personalised gloves for big Martin.

The result is what it is. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and clearly, it’s what happens next that is important.

Clever call or crazy mistake?

Bakole got stopped from an equilibrium shot to the top of the head. It’s not like he took a sustained beating for 10 rounds, so logically he should recovery physically quite quickly.

We will have to see how quickly the mental scars heal however given his stock as the division’s ‘Boogeyman’ has now plummeted.

We are not privy to the actual negotiations that saw him make what in hindsight looks like a crazy decision to fly out and box.

Momentum wise this defeat has taken the air out of his tyres somewhat, but in terms of the bigger picture if it opens some doors for him then it may well have been worth the effort.

Shalom now says the Congolese fighter has been promised a 'big' fight in New York in May. If that is true and if Bakole can get in real fighting shape and score a big win in The Big Apple, then Saturday can be filed away as a fistic aberration.

They call it prize fighting at the end of the day, and so perhaps we should reserve judgment as to whether the decision to cover 3,800 miles on just two days’ notice and fight was a good call (or a crazy mistake) until Bakole’s career is all over.