Martin Bakole has got people talking after his impressive win over Jared Anderson. The Congolese heavyweight, who fights out of Scotland, stopped Anderson in the fifth round and made a big statement in the division.
Dave Allen, a former heavyweight boxer himself, thinks Bakole might be the best in the world right now. He even believes Bakole could beat Oleksandr Usyk, who's undefeated in 22 fights and has won all the belts in two weight classes.
Allen shared his thoughts in a recent interview:
"I think Martin Bakole is the best heavyweight in the world. I think he probably beats everybody. I've said this for a while. He's so big, but he's so fast. When he puts his shots together so well, there's an aura about him as well. Jared Anderson is huge, 6ft4, 18 stone. Bakole made him look like a baby, look like a child."
Allen has sparred with Bakole in the past and was amazed by what he saw:
"He weren't that big back then, he's put a lot of size on. He looks out of shape to be honest, he looked terrible in terms of his condition but he's so relaxed. What I took away from it was that I couldn't believe a man that size can put six or seven shots together. I've sparred Usyk, sparred Fury, and none of them can put shots together like that."
When it comes to a potential fight with Usyk, Allen didn't hold back:
"Bakole would beat Usyk. I've no doubt in my mind, way too big. He's all wrong for Usyk. The only people I can see giving him trouble is Zhang 'cause he's as big as him, Fury and Joshua."
Usyk has had an amazing career so far. He cleared out the cruiserweight division before moving up to heavyweight and winning all the belts there too, just like Evander Holyfield did. But Allen thinks Bakole's size and skill might be too much for him.
Bakole's win over Anderson has put him right in the mix at heavyweight. He might look to avenge his only loss against Michael Hunter from 2018. Or he could wait and see who wins between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois in their IBF world title fight in September.
Whatever happens next, it's clear that Martin Bakole has made people sit up and take notice. He's gone from being called the most avoided fighter on the planet to someone who might just be the best of the lot.
