Martin Bakole believes the key to victory over Jared Anderson lies in forcing him back. The heavyweights fight on Saturday at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, on the undercard of Israil Madrimov-Terence Crawford.
If Anderson, 24, is considered the future of the heavyweight division, then the Congolese Bakole represents – even more so than Charles Martin – his greatest test.
The 32-year-old Bakole is perhaps the division’s most avoided fighter, and largely because across the course of 21 fights he has lost only once – to Michael Hunter in 2018 when he suffered an injured right shoulder.
Anderson, who has won all 17 of his fights as a professional, is continuing to physically and psychologically mature, and he has also spoken about the intense pressure he feels under to succeed, but Bakole believes he has identified a greater, and simpler, weakness that he can exploit.
“As soon as I start landing and push him back, I don’t think he’ll fight on the back foot,” he told BoxingScene. “So as soon as I open up and start throwing or start fighting, I don’t think he’ll stand up.
“I was watching his style – the opponents never give him a hard time, but that will never happen with Martin Bakole. That’s why I was laughing after watching that. To be honest, he never fight someone who fights back.
“The opponent was not punching back. That is what makes me laugh. That means that they choose an easy opponent for him.
“It proves that maybe it’s because that happens to every young prospect – heavyweight, or boxer – but I don’t think that they should give him some good opponents. You will be in big trouble because I’m 100 per cent more than all the opponents that he fights, so it’s going to be a surprise. Someone who’s attacking him; giving him a hard time; no time to rest. I think he will give up. Maybe his corner will throw in the towel.
“Nothing impressed me because he was going to impress me if there was someone who was fighting back – giving him a hard time; push him to the wall, or push him on the back foot. But since I didn’t see that, nothing [about watching him] impressed me.”
The pressure to which Anderson refers owes so much to America’s desire to have another leading heavyweight. Deontay Wilder’s decline may even have increased that pressure – which perhaps is ironic, given how limited he appeared when he encountered opponents capable of forcing him backwards.
“I can’t let anybody control me in the ring – never,” Bakole continued. “Never let someone control me, so that would be a big problem.
“I never saw [Anderson] get a punch. I just only watched one fight. I never saw him get a beautiful left hook or a beautiful body punch or uppercut and survive. I never saw something like that. Maybe I’ll see it in the ring. I don’t know if he’ll survive or he’ll continue.”
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