Eddie Hearn got accused of protecting Anthony Joshua from a tough fight against Martin Bakole. Billy Nelson, who trains Bakole, called out Hearn on social media.
Joshua became a world champ back in 2016 when he knocked out Charles Martin in two rounds. He went on to unify titles by beating Joseph Parker and Wladimir Klitschko. But his career hit some bumps recently. He lost to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 before winning the rematch. Then he dropped two fights to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022. Last September, Daniel Dubois stopped him in five rounds when Joshua tried to become a three-time world champ.
Now in his mid-30s, Joshua's looking to get back into the title picture. Hearn's been guiding his career since he turned pro. They've always said they'll fight anyone, and Joshua's talked about wanting to box in Africa.
But a rumor popped up that Joshua might fight Bakole in Africa this October. That's when Nelson spoke up on X (the site formerly known as Twitter):
"I was bombarded with is Martin v AJ happening in Africa in October last night. My reply was: His excellency wants it, Martin wants it, AJ says he wants it, but big Eddie seems to be sh***ing his pants making up every excuse to avoid it. Big Ed knows"
Bakole's coming off a knockout win over American prospect Jarod Anderson. He's set for an IBF eliminator against Efe Ajagbe. If he wins that, he'll get a shot at champ Daniel Dubois.
A fight with Bakole would be risky for Joshua right now. He might wait for another title chance instead. Meanwhile, Bakole's got that eliminator coming up. If he wins, he'll be in line for Dubois and the IBF belt.
