Turki Alalshikh Confirms Bakole’s Return in May After Parker Defeat

Turki Alalshikh says Martin Bakole will still be fighting in May on one of his cards despite his second-round knockout defeat against Joseph Parker last Saturday night in Riyadh. Hopefully, Bakole comes into his next fight in better condition because he looked unfit at 310 lbs in his loss to Parker.

The sad part is that if Bakole had been in shape, he likely would have mowed Parker down, and he would be the one in line to challenge unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for his three belts. That would have been a big payday for Bakole. In hindsight, he should have turned down the Parker fight and looked at the big picture.

May Fight Still On

#3 IBF-ranked contender Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) is expected to fight #6 Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator on May 2nd. Bakole will still be eligible to take that fight. It’s not the ideal way for Bakole to be battling in an eliminator, but in this era of boxing, it fits in.

We see fighters constantly battling for world titles after being beaten repeatedly. British journeyman Derek Chisora is a good example of that. He was picked out for a world title shot against former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on December 3, 2022, with a 1-3 record in his previous four fights. Yeah, it’s a bad look for the sport, but the promoters, sanctioning bodies, and networks are good with it.

“Bakole is coming to the Kingdom. We’ll still have a fight with Bakole in May,” said Turki Alalshikh to the Stomping Ground about his plan for Martin Bakole after his second-round knockout loss to Joseph Parker last Saturday night in their co-feature bout in Riyadh.

Going up against a big puncher like the 6’6″ Ajagba off a knockout loss is a risky thing for Bakole. If there are still lingering effects from his KO defeat against Parker, Marton won’t last long in this fight? Getting knocked out again would sink Bakole’s career, putting him on a scrap heap. He’d still be useful as a trial horse, but he can forget about fighting for a world title unless one of the champions feels charitable. I don’t see that happening.