MARTIN BAKOLE is the heavyweight no one wants to fight, we are told. After 21 fights the 32-year-old has lost just once against his best opponent to date Michael Hunter. But Bakole then went on to win his next nine fights with only two going the distance.
One-sided victories against Tony Yoka and Carlos Takam have given some credibility back to Bakole’s career but tonight at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles he has an opportunity to truly announce himself on the big stage with a win over American hope Jared Anderson.
Bakole recently spoke to Boxing News about Anderson, the frustrations at not landing a big fight in the UK and getting the chance to exact some painful revenge on his brother – former WBC Cruiserweight world champion Ilunga Makabu.
Interview by Shaun Brown
BN: What do you think of Jared Anderson as a fighter?
MB: A young boxer who’s coming to take over boxing, take over the heavyweight division. Same dream as me, so that’s all I know.
BN: Are you surprised that someone who is being tipped as a future champion is prepared to take on someone deemed as dangerous as yourself?
MB: No, I’m not surprised. I appreciate the courage he has. I appreciate the good heart. I believe in myself but no one wants to fight me in the UK. Eight years now in the UK, people are avoiding me. So now it’s Anderson’s time in America to say yes. So I wish him good luck. So it is what it is. It’s time now to focus on business.
BN: You’ve got a very aggressive style, which has been too much for all but one of your opponents to handle. Do you expect to overwhelm Anderson on the night?
MB: Of course. I think he will be in big s**t. He will be in trouble that day because he never fights someone in my level. He never fights someone who’s got my style. And I would never give him time to play how he used to play with others. So I think he will be focused every second minute in the ring, because if he switches off, or he’s playing, he’ll be in a big s**t. He has to come 100% focused all the time so he can give the fans a good boxing match. I don’t want to stop him early. I want him to be there, give the fan a good couple of rounds before stopping him.
BN: You’ve mentioned that no UK heavyweight has wanted to fight you. But this is a real chance to impress a big audience.
MB: I don’t think I need to impress everyone now or make a name because I already made a name. People know who I am, and that’s the reason why they’re avoiding me. But there’s some people in America that don’t know me, so I’m going to tell them myself in this fight. But for the boxers, everyone knows who Martin Bakole is. But no one comes, and nobody answers back or do a video saying, I want to fight Martin Bakole. They’ve been telling us in the UK there’s not anyone to face me. Nobody says yes to fight me. So I’m disappointed. I’m in the UK. After two, three, maybe four months, I’ll be a UK resident because it’s eight years since I’ve been here. I never fought someone in the UK but there are plenty.
BN: How have you handled these disappointments and these frustrations? Is it something that you’ve managed to get over? Or have you become a little bit upset and angry with it all?
MB: I think both because put yourself in my place. I’m with the Sky Sports and Boxxer, big platform. My coach, my manager, everyone is familiar. I can’t get a fight with the UK top guys. So I’m a little bit upset. But it is what it is. I’ll catch them because soon they’re old champions. Soon I will have a belt. Everyone will come to fight me now. I’ll keep winning the fight until I get them.
BN: You made your pro debut, Martin, on March 25, 2014, in South Africa. What have you made of your professional career so far? What kind of journey has it been like for you overall?
MB: Oh, very big journey. Thank you for asking that. You know, from South Africa to today in the UK, it’s a long journey. But I’m so proud of myself. When I see myself from the beginning and where I am now, I thank God. And I give everything I have. So I push myself, me and my team. Today I’m number one WBA contender. It’s not given to everyone. If you watch everywhere, there’s no African man who’s number one WBA, except Martin Bakole. So I’m so proud of myself and so happy for what I did and the improvement and the hard work I put in. Without the hard work, I can’t be where I am today.
BN: When was it that you knew that you had the talent to fight, to box and to potentially go far in the sport?
MB: From the beginning because before my first fight, I spent more than one year in the gym with my brother. He was sparring me every day. He used to beat me up every day and he broke my nose. He said, “Hey, I have to do it today because if I didn’t break your nose today, give you a hard time, when you are heavyweight and when it happens in the ring, you’ll give up.” So he gave me that mentality before I started, not even boxing, but like a professional. So I thank him today because if you watch all my fights, you’ll never see me have a cut or bleeding because I cry a lot before I become a professional. I’m so proud of him and so proud of myself. And from the beginning, to be honest, I would like to thank [trainer] Billy Nelson because if he never gave me a big opportunity, I was not going to be like this. He jumped on a chance. He did everything that he could and supported me in everything. He’s a good man. He’s like an angel to me. He took me from six, seven fights. Look me today, 21 fights only one loss. And the loss was a mistake we made, but we can’t blame ourselves or blame people. I don’t see anyone, except Anderson, who is undefeated. He’s going to lose. Everyone can lose.
BN: When your brother did break your nose, did you ever get a chance to do it back?
MB: Yes. Oh, I was so happy. I was so happy. I think it’s four years today. I went back home and he said, “Hey, Martin, come and help me.” I was preparing for a fight. “Come and help me with the sparring.” It was time for payback. I used everything I learned from Coach Billy. Now, I gave him a hard time, broken nose as well. And he said, “Hey, from today, no sparring. You are heavyweight.” I paid back once. And from that day, he said no more sparring. If I ask him to spar, he said no.