Martin Bakole, the Congolese-born heavyweight boxer, has started calling himself "the next and the future Foreman." He's referring to George Foreman, the legendary heavyweight known for his brutal punching power.
Bakole made this bold claim on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote:
"No one can run away from this. This is big machine, Martin Bakole. Knockout machine. The next and the future Foreman. Next year is my year. Daniel Dubois, be ready. Joshua, you got knocked out, out of the line. Tyson Fury, Usyk, I'll be number one next year."
Bakole's comparison to Foreman isn't just about power. Foreman had an impressive career with a knockout-to-fight ratio of nearly 90%. He won 76 fights, lost only 5, and even won the world heavyweight title at 45 years old before retiring in 1997.
'Big' Martin Bakole says he's the most avoided man in the division. He claims top fighters won't face him because of his destructive sparring performances. His promoter and trainer back him up on this.
Bakole recently showed his skills by demolishing Jared Anderson, a highly-touted 24-year-old heavyweight, in five rounds. His style in that fight was similar to Foreman's - letting his opponent's punches bounce off before throwing devastating shots of his own.
Right now, Bakole is focused on a fight with Agit Kabayel. The IBF has ordered this match, and the winner will become the mandatory challenger for champion Daniel Dubois. Bakole seems fired up for this opportunity, saying:
"So now I'm focused on Agit Kabayel. Kabayel, be ready. Big thank you to the IBF for giving me this opportunity, I'm looking forward to being number one next year. Kabayel, you're going to get it. Knockout."
Kabayel has hinted that he'll take the fight. It looks like we'll soon see if Bakole can live up to his "future Foreman" claim in the ring.
