Martin Bakole believes that he will also defeat Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois ahead of schedule.
Congolese heavyweight boxer Martin Bakole assessed his chances in possible fights against other fighters in the division.
The 31-year-old African said that he is capable of defeating all top opponents, including the world champion according to WBA, WBO, WBC and IBO Alexandra Usika.
According to Bakole, he will be able to knock out Usyk in the sixth round. He also believes that he will achieve early victories over former world champion Anthony Joshua and IBF title holder Daniel Dubois even faster.
“If I fight Anthony Joshua, I will knock him out somewhere between the first and fourth rounds. I will definitely knock him out, he will not go through the fourth round.
Daniel Dubois? I will knock him out in the first or second round.
Oleksandr Usyk? It's a tough fight. A good fight, but I will stop him in the sixth round,” Bakole told talkSPORT Boxing.
In the professional ring, Bakole has had 22 fights, winning 21 of them (16 by knockout). His only defeat was in October 2018, when he was defeated by American Michael Hunter, whom Usyk had defeated back in 2017 when he was fighting in the cruiserweight division.
See also: “He's a no-name”: a video of Fury not believing in Usyk four years ago has gone viral online
Recall that on the night of December 22, 2024, Usyk won a rematch.Tyson Fury by unanimous decision (three times 116-112) and defended the WBA, WBO, WBC and IBO heavyweight titles.
Unlike the first fight, the Usyk-Fury rematch did not have the absolute world champion title at stake, since Alexander had previously renounced the IBF title. Now it is owned by Briton Daniel Dubois, who has already managed to defend it by knocking out his compatriot Anthony Joshua.
After Usyk's victory over Fury in the rematch, Dubois climbed into the ring and challenged the Ukrainian to a fight. Alexander agreed and asked to organize a fight with Daniel, whom he had already knocked out in August 2023.
According to the manager of the Ukrainian champion Egis Klimas, Usyk will have his next fight approximately at the end of July or in August 2025. For now, Alexander is resting, awaiting the result of the title fight between Dubois and New Zealander Joseph Parker, which will take place on February 22 in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).