Martin Bakole’s trainer says Jared Anderson ‘would stop’ Bakole’s next opponent Efe Ajagba

The biggest threat to Martin Bakole in May is not Efe Ajagba, his next opponent, but instead his own complacency and the temptation to look beyond his next opponent. 

That’s according to Billy Nelson, Bakole’s trainer, who has been with the Congolese heavyweight since the start of his career and knows that they are now within touching distance of the very thing both have for years dreamed of winning: a world heavyweight title. To get there Bakole must first defeat Nigeria’s Ajagba in New York and Nelson, though respectful of Ajagba, has every reason to believe Bakole’s previous opponent Jared Anderson, whom Bakole stopped in five rounds, represented a sterner test of his man’s capabilities – at least on paper. 

“He is a big and tall guy but I don’t think he’s anywhere near as strong as Martin,” Nelson said of Ajagba, 20-1 (14). “He has a dubious chin which will be tested to the full with Martin. I think he’s got a decent jab if you let him get into a rhythm, which we won’t, and he’s a good all-round fighter. He’s just not world class. Anderson would stop Ajagba. Anderson is a very good fighter. But Martin Bakole is an exceptionally good fighter. People will see that, and change their minds, when he wins a world title. I know what it takes to win a world title and this boy is the best fighter I have ever trained.”

In truth, this is a song Nelson has been singing since day one. The only difference now is that the rest of the boxing world is starting to pay attention to the lyrics and some have even decided to join in and form a choir.

This process, one of catching up, was expedited last August when Bakole put on the performance of his career in stopping Anderson, the unbeaten American considered by some to be The Next Big Thing at heavyweight. Not content with just beating Anderson that night in Los Angeles, Bakole effectively broke him, causing “Big Baby” to leave the ring and return immediately to the drawing board. 

“I knew Martin would stop him,” said Nelson. “He’s too experienced; too clever. The people who tell you how good Martin is all know what he is capable of. Go and ask Tyson Fury. Go and ask Anthony Joshua. Go and ask Oleksandr Usyk. The three of them will tell you he’s a brilliant fighter. Anthony Joshua is a great guy, a lovely guy, and he told me years ago, ‘He’s going to win a world title.’ Peter Fury said the same to me; as did Martin Bowers. People whose opinion I value have been saying these things since the start. They have always known he was special. Even Don Charles, back when Martin sparred Derek Chisora, said he is ‘magnifique’. That was his word.

“He’s had some great press since that Anderson win and I think even Turki Alalshikh sat up and took notice after the fight. I think Anderson was one of his favourite fighters; he went and greeted him before the fight.”

As is often the case with people in positions of power in boxing, Alalshikh became as much a fan of Bakole during the Anderson fight – and especially after it – as he was of Anderson before the fight. Now, Nelson says, Alalshikh is pushing Bakole towards the front of the queue and wants him involved in a number of major heavyweight bouts in the next 12 months. 

“He’s got a three-fight plan for us and we’re over the moon with it,” said Nelson. “Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney are boxing on the same show as him for this first one [in May]. How good is that? It’s a great showcase for Martin. He’ll always have to go the long route and he’ll always have to work twice as hard as everyone else until he becomes a world champion. But then, when he becomes a world champion, that’s when people will realise that we were right. People have doubted me from the beginning and I don’t know why. I think my record in boxing is as good as anyone’s in Britain.”

For many people, both opponents and observers, Bakole, 21-1 (16), is a difficult proposition to understand. He doesn’t look, on the face of it, like your next great heavyweight, nor move like one when in the ring. And yet, to see Bakole operate on fight night is to see a 33-year-old heavyweight completely at one with what he is doing; utterly relaxed, focused, almost having fun. From first bell to last, he maintains a composure most heavyweights lack and is so poised and consistent with his work he is able to slowly suffocate his opponent and force them to punch when they would rather be resting. He is also six feet six and weighs close to 300 pounds, which makes his fluidity all the more impressive. 

“His boxing brain is phenomenal, as is the speed of hand for such a big man,” said Nelson. “I’ve got to laugh at these clowns on social media who say he has slow hands and slow feet. Unbelievable. They also say he cannot punch and has nae [no] defense. He will take a shot to land a shot, there’s nothing wrong with that, but he sets traps and applies pressure with his feet. He closes the distance and forces you into a mistake. 

“Anderson was so uncomfortable when he backed him up to the ropes. I knew that when his right foot went square on with his left foot, it was over for him. That meant he was blind to the uppercut and that’s what Martin got him with, a left uppercut. That was a shot we had worked on.”

In reality, everything you see Bakole produce on fight night has previously been “worked on” by Bakole and Nelson inside their gym in Airdrie, Scotland. These tricks, like their relationship, have been slowly developed and perfected over time and now Nelson, the instructor, has never been as certain of where his student’s journey will eventually finish.

“Do you remember that English goalkeeper who played one game and his dad won a load of money?” Nelson said, referring to Chris Kirkland, whose father, Eddie, won £10,000 on a bet after Chris represented England in a friendly match against Greece in 2006. (Twelve years earlier his father had made a £98 bet that his son would win an England cap before turning 30.) “I visited every bookie in my local area looking to put money on Martin winning a world heavyweight title when I first got him, but not one of them would take a bet. I was hoping to put two grand on it and get 400 grand when he won a world title. How good would that be?”

Elliot Worsell is a boxing writer whose byline first appeared in Boxing News magazine at the age of 17. He has, in the 20 years since, written for various publications, worked as press officer for two world heavyweight champions and won four first-place BWAA (Boxing Writers Association of America) awards. In addition to his boxing writing, Worsell has written about mixed martial arts for Fighters Only magazine and UFC.com, as well as worked as a publicist for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has also written two non-fiction books, one of which, “Dog Rounds,” was shortlisted at the British Sports Book Awards in 2018.