Martin Bakole has his sights set on huge heavyweight nights after he put pen to paper on a new long-term fight deal.
Ranked at the top by the World Boxing Association (WBA), the 29-year-old heavyweight (18-1-0, 13 KOs)- who resides in Scotland – will fight exclusively for BOXXER on Sky Sports.
His next fight will be announced in due course but Bakole – who now hails as “The Next King of Scotland” – believes he is destined for huge success.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to join BOXXER and perform on the biggest platform in Sky Sports,” said Bakole, speaking to BOXXER.com.
“I will build on my last performance in Paris against Tony Yoka and soon become the new world heavyweight champion.”
BOXXER CEO & Founder, Ben Shalom, said: “This is a huge heavyweight signing. Martin is at the top of the WBA rankings and he is destined to deliver great things.
“We’re delighted to add him to our world class roster. He loves his life in Scotland and is training hard alongside Billy Nelson, whom we are very grateful for all his support.
“Martin comfortably defeated Olympic champion Tony Yoka away from home in his last outing. He is arguably the most avoided fighter in the entire division.
“They can all run but they can’t hide for too long, especially now he has the backing of BOXXER and Sky.”
Bakole stands at a menacing 6ft 6in and hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he was born a prince to the son of the ruler of the Kananga province. Bakole is also the younger brother of the reigning and defending WBC world cruiserweight champion, Ilunga Makabu.
He won 18 professional fights including his last in May 2022 when he celebrated a majority decision victory over Tony Yoka in the Rio 2016 Olympic champion’s homeland in Paris, France.
Bakole’s only defeat was in 2018 to American heavyweight Michael Hunter. But he has responded with seven successive wins since – five of which were knockouts, including triumphs against Kevin Johnson and Mariusz Wach.