A very interesting heavyweight match up will take place in L.A on August 3rd. As per a news story from Mike Coppinger of ESPN, unbeaten US heavyweight contender Jared Anderson will face British-based big man Martin Bakole of the Democratic Republic of Congo, this on the stacked card that will be headlined by Terence Crawford against Israil Madrimov.
24-year-old Anderson, 17-0(16), was being lined up to fight Deontay Wilder on the August card, but we all know what happened to Wilder in his fight with Zhilei Zhang. Now, 30-year-old Bakole, 21-1(15), a fighter who has struggled to get himself the kind of big fight he deserves, will very possibly test Anderson harder than anyone else has done thus far. Or might Bakole prove to be too big, too strong, and too determined for Anderson and hand him his first pro loss?
Again, this one is a most interesting fight, and credit goes to both men for agreeing to it. Anderson has shown speed and power in his fights, while he has also been criticized by some fans for having a leaky defense. Bakole, beaten only by Michael Hunter, is a huge guy, with him tipping in around the 300-pound mark in some of his fights. But Bakole has shown a good engine, and he carries the weight well. But has Bakole ever faced anyone with the combination of speed and explosive power Anderson possesses?
It seems there is a good shot, but this fight will not go the distance. Someone will fall, perhaps in the later rounds. At this early stage, Bakole is my pick to win, but we are some way away from the fight. A great card just got even greater with the addition of this intriguing, potentially very exciting heavyweight match-up.
The loss of the Vergil Ortiz-Tim Tszyu fight from the L.A card was a pretty nasty hit for fight fans, but the addition of Anderson-Bakole does make up for it at least a little. To repeat, credit to both Bakole and Anderson for taking this risky fight.
Read the full article here
