Bakole aims to become ‘king of Scotland’ on way to bidding for world crown
Martin Bakole has already shared a ring with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury but when it comes to glory, he doesn’t fancy sharing that with anyone.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the heavyweight boxer has adopted Scotland as his homeland and, from his Airdrie base, he is plotting his ascent to boxing royalty.
“I was off for six months waiting for my visa but now I am back and I want to move on with my career,” said the 25-year-old. “I want to be Scottish. I want to be the next king of Scotland.
“It is a good moment for Scottish boxing. But my coach told me that in Scotland right now we don’t really have a heavyweight, that is why I need everybody supporting me.”
On the undercard for tonight’s big fight between Josh Taylor and Viktor Postol at the SEE Hydro, Bakole will defend his IBO Continental heavyweight belt against England’s D L Jones as he seeks to underline his burgeoning class and edge another step closer to proving himself ready to perform on the world stage.
Having spent 50 rounds sparring with Joshua and alos helped put Fury and fellow British prospect Daniel Dubois through their paces, he says he is at home with the top heavyweights.
“They are nice guys, I have sparred with them, they know me, we know each other,” he added. “But I don’t care who they are – this is business. People are running away from me, always talking about rankings, but they know who I am because I have sparred them. They are scared of me. They have to stop talking about rankings. I am moving to 11, 12 and I am coming for them. I sparred with Joshua last year before I went home, I sparred Fury, Dereck Chisora, Dubois and the king isn’t afraid of anybody.
“I know people don’t know too much about me–iama new guy who has come in from Africa, but I want all of Scotland to get behind me. They won’t be disappointed.”