Heavyweight contender Martin Bakole called out Anthony Joshua on X, telling him he wanted to knock him out and taking offense that AJ predicted Efe Ajagba would beat him.
Joshua’s Priorities In 2025
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) has a full plate in front of him for 2025 and is expected to fight Tyson Fury twice this year. If AJ gets through those two fights with victories, he might be interested in fighting Bakole if he holds a title.
Other than that, it’s unlikely he and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, would want to take the risky fight against Bakole, who is like another Sonny Liston with the power he generates with short punches. He doesn’t need to wind up on his shots to land hard knockout blows, making him a bad option for the chinny Joshua.
#3 IBF Bakole (21-1m 16 KOs) is fighting #5 Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) next in an IBF title eliminator to determine a mandatory challenger for champion Daniel Dubois. Bakole, 31, is coming off a fifth-round knockout of America’s best heavyweight prospect, Jared Anderson, on August 3rd in Los Angeles.
You can never say never, but it’s improbable that AJ and Hearn will ever choose to fight Bakole because he’s wrong for them in every department. Joshua is more focused on the two Fury fights in 2025 and avenging his humiliating fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois on September 21st. That was the unkindest cut of all for Anthony, being knocked out in front of a crowd of over 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London.
“Hey, Anthony Joshua this video is for you. I called [you] out, I wanted to knock you out, and now you’re 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,” said Martin Bakole on X.
“I want to fight you. Look at Daniel Dubois – I broke his nose twice [in sparring] and he knocked you out cold. I will knock you out in the first round. You’re talking about Ajagba? Ajagba is a baby, wait till you see how I’m going to knock him out.”
😡 for you @anthonyjoshua 👊🇨🇩 pic.twitter.com/tRXfkDfI0E
— Martin Bakole (@MartinBakole01) January 6, 2025
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