Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) crushed what some fans consider the best American heavyweight, Jared Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs), with a devastating fifth-round victory in the main event organized by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh last Saturday, August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Bakole capitalized on Anderson’s early aggression in the first round, landing a left hook, followed by a right hook. He then followed it up with a left-right combination that knocked Anderson down.
After the fight, Bakole said Anderson shouldn’t have had him in the first round because that’s what he needed to get his gigantic punches in. Bakole expected Anderson, 24, to box with him in the early going, but surprised him by wanting to trade.
Anderson’s future at Top Rank is uncertain
Bakole knocked Anderson down twice in the fifth round and finished him off with a flurry of punches.
Jared’s loss puts his career at Top Rank in question as it remains to be seen whether he will be someone the club will want to invest money and time in.
Anderson’s performance, as well as his fights with Ryad Merhy and Charles Martin, showed that he lacks the stamina, strength and courage to compete with the best heavyweights in his weight class.
If Top Rank plans to protect Jared for the next three to five years while waiting for the gigantic three, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk, to retire, it won’t work.
Anderson won’t do well against guys like Bakole and Daniel Dubois. Even Filip Hrgovic, Jarrell Miller and Andy Ruiz would be a huge problem for Anderson. My advice to Top Rank is to pass on Anderson.
If His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wants to continue to feature Jared at his events, that is his prerogative, but he will be subject to continued defeat if he has to face someone talented.
“I proved them wrong. People will discover me every time I step into the ring and they will win. I am the most avoided lifter in this division,” said Martin Bakole BoxNationreflecting on his fifth-round knockout victory over Jared Anderson last Saturday night in Los Angeles.
“I think people see what happened yesterday and now they believe in me. He survived. I think if there were 10 seconds, I would have stopped him sooner,” Bakole said of beating Jared in the first round. He survived, and I knocked him out in five seconds.
Die-hard boxing fans believed in Bakole before, but the average person had never seen him in action. Thanks to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Bakole was able to show what he was capable of.
Top fighters Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk have shown no interest in fighting Bakole. They know how good he is and don’t want to risk getting crushed by a gigantic puncher.
You can’t blame boxers like Anthony Joshua or elderly hands like Tyson Fury for not wanting to fight Bakole because he would ruin their chance to make money.
“There was no power in it, and I have a gigantic engine. So I kept coming forward. That was my plan,” Bakole said, explaining how he was able to get through Anderson’s numerous punches. “I expected him to box me, but he made a gigantic mistake in the first round by coming forward. I said, ‘This is an basic fight for me today.'”
Anderson landed some nice body shots and combinations on Bakole. However, he didn’t have enough power with his punches to earn Bakole’s respect or ponderous him down.
In the tenth round of Bakole’s loss to Michael Hunter in October 2018, he was hampered by the former American amateur star’s combinations. Anderson couldn’t throw similar combinations because he was hurt in the first round. Anderson fought cautiously, but Bakole knocked him down.
Bakole’s call for greater challenges
“We want a gigantic fight now. It was too early for him [Anderson] because he wasn’t at my level. I deserve to be with Usyk, Tyson [Fury]Zhang, Kabayel and Joseph Parker. These are the people I belong to. I am glad that His Excellency supports me. So I think I will catch the gigantic fish that I have always been looking for,” Bakole said.
Of the names Bakole mentioned, Zhilei Zhang is the most realistic, as he won’t be fighting Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Agit Kabayel or Joseph Parker. Bakole’s performance in the Jared Anderson fight probably ruined any chance he ever had of fighting any of them, and now he’ll be permanently avoided.
“I’m talking about Parker and Kabayel. Those three names. Joseph Parker, Kabayel or the great Zhang. Those are the people I’m looking for because we’re all in the top 10,” Bakole said.
If Bakole fights Joseph Parker, he will need to focus on his foot speed as he has become a defensive fighter who moves around the ring. Parker is this generation’s version of Chris Byrd and it will be tough for Bakole to get to him and land any of his powerful punches.
The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered world cruiserweight champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KO) to make a mandatory title defense against Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1), number 1 in the WBC ranking – 1, 19 KOs).
If both camps fail to successfully negotiate an agreement, the WBC will organize a tender on February 4, followed by the Jack vs. Rozicki. Rozicki’s promoter, Three Lions Promotions, immediately sent Team Jacek an offer to promote the fight in Canada last week.
“We are waiting for their counteroffer,” explained promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions. “Boxing has had a huge resurgence in Canada and Ryan is leading the way. He is one of the most electrifying and hardest-hitting fighters in boxing, definitely in the cruiserweight division. He wants the WBC green belt and ultimately the unification of the division. Ryan will fight Jack anywhere for the belt.”
29-year-old Rozicki, born in Sydney (Nova Scotia) and living in Hamilton (Ontario), fought 22 professional fights against 21 different opponents (twice against Yamil Alberto Peralta), stopping 19 of the 20 opponents he defeated. an eye-opening 95-KO percentage.
Jack, 41, was a 2008 Olympian representing his native Sweden. He is a three-division world champion, as well as the WBC super middleweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight heavyweight title holder. Jack has a record of 5-0-2 (2 KO) in world championship fights.
“We respect Jack and I don’t want to sound disrespectful,” Otter added, “but he’s over 40 years vintage and has been relatively inactive for two years (only one fight). He brings a lot of experience and respect to the ring, but he will fight a newborn defender with a lot of power. Jack is going to struggle and honestly, I don’t think he’ll make it past the first few rounds.”
Ryan Rozicki is on a mission to become the first Canadian cruiserweight world champion.
Floyd Mayweather’s incredible 50-0 record is not normal and cannot be repeated in sports for another seventy years.
This is the view of Saudi Arabian president Turki Alalshikh, who wants to adopt the UFC model in which fighters lose many fights during their career.
In a speech as he hosted the Ring Magazine Awards after acquiring the long-running boxing publication from Oscar De La Hoya, Alalshikh was unequivocal in his opinion.
“Now losing some fights in boxing must be normal,” he explained. “All fighters want a career similar to Floyd Mayweather – no losses. This may happen once every 50, 60 or 70 years.
“We need it [to be] like currently in the UFC model, where champions lose and win,” added the matchmaker during the Riyad season.
Mayweather rose through the sport in the tardy 1990s to become one of its youngest superstars. Mayweather’s professional success came after winning a bronze medal at the Olympics after losing to Serafim Todorov.
Winning world titles in five weight classes, Mayweather was untouchable. The Grand Rapids native only came close to defeat a few times. He dominated Manny Pacquiao and overtook Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya after heated debates, with decisions that should have been made unanimously.
Towards the end of his career, Mayweather chose to face Andre Berto and Conor McGregor, easily winning and ending his boxing career at the age of 50 without ever going out. Calling himself “the greatest of all time,” Mayweather earned first-ballot Hall of Fame honors and is widely considered one of, if not the greatest defensive fighter of all time.
However, Alalshikh says this type of career needs to end so that fans can get the most out of boxing, as is the case with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Boxing needs to become more attractive, and Alalshikh sees the failures of top stars as a way to keep interest at an all-time high.
In this sport, many boxers enjoy undefeated streaks, the most notable of which is Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian Pound for Pound King is 23-0 and has beaten the best he has to offer in his division and cruiserweight classification.
It remains a mystery how Alalshikh plans to make Usyk suffer while he dominates everyone else. By the time his grand plan goes into action, Usyk will be long gone, and Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney may be more realistic targets.
WBN understands that despite alternative options emerging, it is more likely that Manny Pacquiao will face Mario Barrios next.
Bob Santos, coach of WBC welterweight champion Barrios, told World Boxing News that he is currently in contact with Pacquiao’s team. Asked by WBN if he had spoken to Pacquiao or representatives of any other challenger, Santos replied: “Yes, Pacquiao’s promoter, Sean Gibbons.” Pressed on whether Barrios vs Pacquiao might happen next, he added: “It’s challenging to say. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”
WBN contacted Santos after Conor Benn emerged as a potential alternative to Barrios. The British fighter, who recently returned from a suspension following two positive drug tests, is keen to return to competition.
Benn showed favor with the World Boxing Council at the recent WBC Convention, the WBC Evaluation Committee and during an interview with the sanctioning body over the weekend. “The Destroyer” is ranked second in the rankings at 147 pounds, despite less than solid opponents during his time in exile, during which Benn competed twice in the United States while his career in the United Kingdom was in doubt.
As he battled to clear his name and with the British Anti-Doping Authority finding no evidence that Benn had intentionally taken ostarine, the 28-year-old’s career took a pointed nosedive. Despite this, he remains highly rated and at least one step away from fighting for an eliminator or one of the remaining championship titles.
However, Pacquiao remains Barrios’ favorite. Now it’s up to the boxing legend and Hall of Famer who got the first votes to secure his shot. WBN believes a July date – most likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – is the most realistic date for a Nevada swan song.
Pacquiao could extend his record as the oldest welterweight champion by six years if he can secure a huge victory over the 29-year-old world champion. At 46 years antique, such a scenario remains unlikely, but he can never be compared to one of the greatest players of this generation.
Unlike heavier boxers and his training regiment, Pacquiao looks in great shape despite his advanced age. Everything is set for a massive return to the boxing capital of the world, provided Pacquiao and his team can manage his political ambitions, which are expected to run from this month until May. After that time, Pacquiao could find himself in the summer finals and become the all-time champion, regardless of the result.
Barrios is based in the city, where he trained with Santos, and would be the perfect opponent to see out the career of one of the greatest fighters in history.
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