Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) destroyed what some fans felt was America’s best heavyweight, Jared Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs), by a fifth-round obliteration in easily the fight of the night on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s event last Saturday, August 3rd at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Bakole took advantage of Anderson’s early aggression in the first round by hurting him with a left hook followed by a right uppercut. He then followed with a left-right combination that put Anderson on the canvas.
After the fight, Bakole said that Anderson shouldn’t have right at him in the first round because that was precisely what he needed for him to land his power shots. Bakole had expected Anderson, 24, to box him early, but he surprised him by wanting to trade.
Anderson’s Future with Top Rank Uncertain
Bakole knocked Anderson down twice in the fifth and finished him with a barrage of shots.
The loss for Jared places his career with Top Rank in jeopardy, as it’s questionable whether he’s someone they will want to invest money and time in after this.
Anderson’s performance, along with his fights against Ryad Merhy and Charles Martin, showed that he lacks the punch resistance, power, and bravery to compete against the top heavyweights in the division.
If Top Rank plans to protect Jared for the next three to five years, waiting for the big three, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Oleksandr Usyk to retire, it won’t work.
Anderson won’t do well against fighters like Bakole and Daniel Dubois. Even Filip Hrgovic, Jarrell Miller, and Andy Ruiz would be a massive problem for Anderson. My advice for Top Rank would be to cut Anderson loose.
If His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wants to keep putting Jared on his events, that’s his prerogative, but he’ll repeatedly lose if he’s matched against anyone with talent.
“I proved them wrong. People will discover me after every time I step in the ring, and keep winning. I’m the most avoided heavyweight in the division,” said Martin Bakole to BoxNation, reflecting on his fifth-round knockout win over Jared Anderson last Saturday night in Los Angeles.
“I think people can see after what happened yesterday and believe in me now. He survived. I think if there were ten seconds, I would have stopped him early,” Bakole said about dropping Jared in round one. He survived, and I knocked him out in five.”
Hardcore boxing fans believed in Bakole before, but the casuals had never seen him perform. Thanks to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Bakole was allowed to show what he could do.
The top fighters, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Oleksandr Usyk, have shown no interest in fighting Bakole. They know how good he is and don’t want to risk getting bludgeoned by the big puncher.
You can’t blame chinny fighters like Anthony Joshua or old guys like Tyson Fury for not wanting to fight Bakole because he would wreck their money-making ability.
“There was no power on it, and I have a big engine. That’s why I kept coming forward. That was my plan,” said Bakole, explaining how he could walk through Anderson’s many shots. “I was expecting him to box me, but he made a big mistake in the first round by coming forward. I said, ‘This is an easy fight for me today.’”
Anderson was landing nice body shots and combinations on Bakole. However, he didn’t have the power on his punches to get Bakole’s respect or slow him down.
In Bakole’s tenth-round knockout loss to Michael Hunter in October 2018, he had problems due to the combination of punching from the former American amateur star. Anderson couldn’t throw similar combinations because he was hurt from the first round after that. Anderson was fighting cautiously but getting walked down by Bakole.
Bakole’s Call for Bigger Challenges
“We want a big fight now. This was too early for him [Anderson] because he was not on my level. I deserve to be with Usyk, Tyson [Fury], Zhang, Kabayel, and Joseph Parker. These are the people where I belong. I’m happy that His Excellency is behind me. So, I think I’ll get a big fish that I’ve always been looking for,” said Bakole.
Of the names that Bakole mentions, Zhilei Zhang is the most realistic because he won’t get fights against Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Agit Kabayel, or Joseph Parker. Bakole’s performance against Jared Anderson likely ruined any chances he ever had of fighting any of them, and now he’s going to be permanently avoided.
“I’m talking about Parker and Kabayel. These three names. Joseph Parker, Kabayel or big Zhang. These are the people I’m looking for because we’re all in the top 10,” said Bakole.
If Bakole fights Joseph Parker, he will need to focus on his foot speed because he’s turned into a defensive fighter who moves around the ring. Parker is like this generation’s version of Chris Byrd, and it won’t be easy for Bakole to get to him to land any of his power punches.
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