Martin Bakole

Last updated
Martin Bakole
Born
Martin Bakole Ilunga

(1993-06-01) 1 June 1993 (age 31)
Kananga, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) [1]
Nationality Congolese
Other namesMartin Makabu Bakole
Statistics
Weight(s) Heavyweight
Height6 ft 5.95 in (198 cm) [2]
Reach77 in (196 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record [3]
Total fights22
Wins21
Wins by KO16
Losses1

Martin Bakole Ilunga (born 1 June 1993 [4] ) is a Congolese professional boxer. He is the younger brother of former cruiserweight boxing world champion, Ilunga Makabu. [5]

Contents

Professional career

Bakole made his professional debut on 25 March 2014, scoring a second-round technical knockout (TKO) victory over Cecil Smith at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. [6]

After compiling a record of 9–0 (6 KO), he faced undefeated Ali Baghouz (10–0–1) on 11 November 2017 at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, with the vacant IBO Continental heavyweight title on the line. [7] Bakole captured the vacant title via first-round knockout (KO). He successfully defended the title in his next fight with a first-round TKO against DL Jones (8–1–1) on 23 June 2018 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow. [8]

He next fought former Olympian and cruiserweight world title challenger Michael Hunter (14–1) for the vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title on 13 October 2018 at the York Hall, London. Bakole lost the fight via tenth-round TKO. The first few rounds were evenly contested with Bakole walking his American opponent down while Hunter remained on the back foot, utilising movement and picking his moments to throw combinations. From round four and onwards, Hunter began to make an impression with his ring movement and speedy combinations. Towards the end of the seventh, Bakole landed a powerful right hand that stunned Hunter, causing the former cruiserweight to hold in the clinch. Hunter, now looking fatigued and suffering a cut to the right eye, had his mouth piece knocked out in the eighth by a clean right hand. After injuring his right shoulder in the eighth, Bakole was reluctant to throw the right hand in the ninth, instead choosing to work behind the jab. The end came in the tenth and final round; with Hunter landing powerful shots with more frequency, a left hook sent Bakole stumbling – not for the first time during the round – towards the corner. After a barrage of unanswered punches, referee Phil Edwards waved off the fight with 41 seconds of the round remaining, handing Bakole the first defeat of his professional career. [9] [10]

Following his loss to Hunter, Bakole fought former heavyweight world title challenger Mariusz Wach (33–4) on 6 April 2019 at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland, with the vacant Republic of Poland International heavyweight title up for grabs. Bakole won the fight via eighth-round TKO in a scheduled ten-round bout. The first-round saw Wach boxing in a defensive manner, staying at range behind the jab and looking to counter-punch. The next few rounds saw Bakole take the lead. Throwing heavy combination punches to the head of his Polish opponent. Towards the end of the fifth, Bakole landed several punches to his opponent's head, leaving Wach on unsteady legs as he walked back to his corner. Wach attempted to rally back in the sixth-round, having success as Bakole's pace slowed. Bakole came back in the seventh to repeat his performance of previous rounds, putting together combinations and landing punches to the head of Wach. The end came in the eighth when referee Robert Gortat waved off the fight after Wach was on the receiving end of a flurry of twelve unanswered punches. [11] [12]

Following a first-round TKO win over Ytalo Perea (11–4–2) in August, [13] Bakole was scheduled to face Gabriel Enguema on 19 October 2019 at the Utilita Arena, Newcastle. Days before the fight, Enguema withdrew from the bout due to an injury. Former world title challenger Kevin Johnson (34–15–1) stepped in at short notice. [14] In what was a one-sided affair, Bakole won by fifth-round TKO in a scheduled eight-round bout after referee Ron Kearney waved off the fight following Johnson being on the receiving end of several unanswered punches, handing the durable veteran boxer the third stoppage defeat of his career. [15] [16]

In the January 2024 ranking published by the World Boxing Association, Bakole was the world number one ranked heavyweight. [17]

Bakole was scheduled to face Jared Anderson at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on August 3, 2024. [18] Bakole won the fight by TKO in the fifth round. [19] Bakole won the WBO International and the vacant WBO-NABO heavyweight titles in his victory. [20]

Professional boxing record

22 fights21 wins1 loss
By knockout161
By decision50
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
22Win21–1 Jared Anderson KO5 (10) 2:073 Aug 2024 BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Won WBO International and vacant WBC-NABF heavyweight titles
21Win20–1 Carlos Takam TKO4 (10), 2:15 28 Oct 2023 Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
20Win19–1Ihor ShevadzutskyiTKO3 (10), 0:4522 Apr 2023G2A Arena, Rzeszów, Poland
19Win18–1 Tony Yoka MD1014 May 2022 Accor Arena, Paris, France
18Win17–1Haruna OsumanuKO1 (10), 2:5018 Sep 2021 Dubai Sports City, Dubai, UAE
17Win16–1 Sergey Kuzmin UD10 12 Dec 2020 The SSE Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant WBC International heavyweight title
16Win15–1Rodney HernandezTKO2 (10), 2:502 Nov 2019 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
15Win14–1 Kevin Johnson TKO5 (8), 0:5819 Oct 2019 Utilita Arena, Newcastle, England
14Win13–1Ytalo PereaTKO1 (8), 1:202 Aug 2019 Exhibition Centre Liverpool, Liverpool, England
13Win12–1 Mariusz Wach TKO8 (10), 2:266 Apr 2019 Spodek, Katowice, PolandWon vacant Republic of Poland International heavyweight title
12Loss11–1 Michael Hunter TKO10 (10), 2:1913 Oct 2018York Hall, London, EnglandFor vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
11Win11–0DL JonesTKO1 (10), 1:0223 Jun 2018 The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, ScotlandRetained IBO Continental heavyweight title
10Win10–0Ali BaghouzKO1 (10), 2:2311 Nov 2017 Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, ScotlandWon vacant IBO Continental heavyweight title
9Win9–0Kamil SokolowskiPTS67 Oct 2017 York Hall, London, England
8Win8–0Dominic AkinladeTKO1 (6), 1:5629 Jul 2017Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester, England
7Win7–0Tomas MrazekTKO3 (6), 1:321 Oct 2016Bellahouston Leisure Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
6Win6–0Lukasz RusiewiczPTS412 Aug 2016Village Hotel, Ashton-under-Lyne, England
5Win5–0Patrick MadzingaTKO1 (6)12 Dec 2015Olive Convention Centre, Durban, South Africa
4Win4–0Ferenc ZsalekMD45 Dec 2014Centre Sportif Obercorn, Differdange, Luxembourg
3Win3–0Lukas FilkaKO1 (4), 2:558 Nov 2014Hall Omnisport de La Préalle, Herstal, Belgium
2Win2–0Chris MbomboTKO2 (4)23 Apr 2014Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
1Win1–0Cecil SmithTKO2 (4)25 Mar 2014Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa

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References

  1. ↑ "Coming to Airdrie: Martin Bakole interview". Boxing Monthly. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  2. ↑ "New Faces: Martin Bakole". The Ring. 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  3. ↑ "Boxing record for Martin Bakole". BoxRec .
  4. ↑ Netherton, Alexander (10 May 2022). "Tony Yoka vs Martin Bakole: Date, fight time, TV channel and live stream | DAZN News Global". DAZN . Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  5. ↑ Dooley, Terence (31 July 2017). "Martin Ilunga Targets Tony Bellew: I Want To Avenge My Brother!". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "BoxRec: Martin Bakole vs. Cecil Smith". boxrec.com. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "BoxRec: Martin Bakole vs. Ali Baghouz". boxrec.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "BoxRec: Martin Bakole vs. DL Jones". boxrec.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  9. ↑ Williamson, Chris (13 October 2018). "Michael Hunter With a Dramatic Knockout of Martin Bakole". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  10. ↑ Gray, Tom (13 October 2018). "Michael Hunter stops Martin Bakole in the closing seconds of heavyweight slugfest". The Ring. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Furman, Luke (6 April 2019). "Martin Bakole Batters, Stops Mariusz Wach in The Eight". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  12. ↑ "Martin Bakole Ilunga stops Mariusz Wach - RESULTS ⋆ Boxing News 24". Boxing News 24. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  13. ↑ "BoxRec: Martin Bakole vs. Ytalo Perea". boxrec.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  14. ↑ "Ritson vs Davies Jr: Kevin Johnson comes in to face Martin Bakole". Sky Sports. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  15. ↑ Foster, Elliot (19 October 2019). "Ritson-Davies LIVE Results - Martin Bakole Stops Kevin Johnson". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  16. ↑ Damerell, Richard (19 October 2019). "Davies Jr vs Ritson: Martin Bakole stops Kevin Johnson in the fifth round in Newcastle". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  17. ↑ https://www.rfi.fr/fr/sports/20240104-boxe-le-congolais-martin-bakole-nouveau-num%C3%A9ro-un-mondial-des-poids-lourds-wba
  18. ↑ Iskenderov, Parviz (6 June 2024). "Jared Anderson vs Martin Bakole joins Crawford-Madrimov card, Eminem to perform". FIGHTMAG.
  19. ↑ Iskenderov, Parviz (4 August 2024). "Martin Bakole drops Jared Anderson three times, stops in fifth round". FIGHTMAG.
  20. ↑ "Jared Anderson vs. Martin Bakole, Crawford vs. Madrimov | Boxing Bout". Tapology. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
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