Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, once the kings of heavyweight boxing, now face stiff competition from rising stars like Martin Bakole. The two former champs are looking for one last shot at glory, but Bakole's recent comments suggest he's ready to take their place.
Joshua and Wilder defined an era in heavyweight boxing. They captured all the belts between them and gave fans thrilling nights with highlight reel knockouts. But they never faced each other in the ring, leaving fans wondering what could have been.
Now, both fighters are trying to bounce back from recent setbacks. Joshua lost his IBF belt to Daniel Dubois in a fifth-round stoppage. Dubois shocked everyone with his win over Joshua at Wembley. AJ's planning a comeback bout this year to get back on track.
Wilder's had a rougher time lately. He lost his WBC strap to Tyson Fury, then knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round. But after that, he lost to Joseph Parker on points and got stopped by Zhilei Zhang in five rounds. He's expected to have a warm-up fight in April to get back in the win column.
While Joshua and Wilder try to regain their form, Martin Bakole's making noise. He recently stopped highly-touted prospect Jared Anderson and now he's taking aim at the former champs. Bakole told BOXXER he'd finish both Joshua and Wilder easily.
"I'll knock him out," Bakole said about Joshua. As for Wilder, he promised to "knock him out, easy finish."
Bakole's not just talk. He's got a final eliminator against Efe Ajagbe in May for the IBF mandatory slot. If he wins, he could challenge Daniel Dubois for the IBF belt or face Joseph Parker if Parker beats Dubois. There's even talk of a big clash with Anthony Joshua in Africa.
Oleksandr Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk has called Bakole the "future heavyweight king." With Joshua and Wilder trying to make comebacks and rising stars like Bakole and Dubois making waves, the heavyweight division's looking more exciting than ever.
