Number 1 Ranked Heavyweight Vows To ‘Punish’ Anthony Joshua And KO Him In 5 Rounds

Anthony Joshua is one fight away from becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion.

After losing his unified titles to Oleksandr Usyk and falling short again in the rematch, Joshua has now linked up with coach Ben Davison and is on a good run of form, stopping both Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou in dominant fashion.

He now faces newly elevated IBF Champion Daniel Dubois on September 21. Although a win will set him up to face the winner of the Usyk and Tyson Fury rematch, there are plenty of top contenders waiting in the wings if he wants to keep busy.

One such fighter is Martin Bakole, who has long claimed to be the danger-man of the division but, until recently, didn’t have a standout performance on the big stage.

That changed when he destructively dismantled American Jared Anderson, tipped by many to be a future world champion, in five rounds. Bakole gained recognition from the US audience that night in Los Angeles and became known to UK fans for more than just his impressive sparring stories of dropping and stopping the best heavyweights.

He now deserves big fights only, and he has called out ‘AJ’ to face him in Africa à la Ali and Foreman’s Rumble in the Jungle. Should it take place, Bakole recently told BOXXER how it would go after previously claiming to have seriously hurt the Brit behind closed doors in the gym.

“Anthony Joshua – knockout, round four or five … This year I’m coming to knock them out. Stop them or punish them.”

There’s certainly an appetite for the fight, as there is to see Bakole in with any of the big names, but ‘AJ’ is firmly focused on Dubois and then, should he manage to avenge his loss to Usyk, Tyson Fury.

Meanwhile, Bakole may just get his fight in Africa. Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh has expressed an interest in matching him with fellow heavy-hitter Zhilei Zhang either there or in China.