Top heavyweight contender Martin Bakole claims he has already ‘stopped’ both Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois in sparring.
Bakole has been out of the ring since May, when he handed Olympic gold medal winner Tony Yoka his first career defeat, but is hoping to secure a world title shot of some description before 2023 is out.
The 18-1 (13 KOs) heavyweight believes WBA ‘regular’ champion Dubois is a realistic target but Bakole believes the Londoner will swerve the fight because of what happened when they sparred.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Bakole said: “Daniel Dubois is the fight I want. I’ve sparred him twice and I stopped him twice in sparring. He knows that. If we fight, I think I stop him in the first or second round.
“I’m calling him out and I want him to be ready for me. I want that fight, I can’t wait. People are hiding because they don’t want to fight me because i made the mistake from sparring them in the gym.”
Bakole was brought in by WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF champion Usyk for sparring when he prepared for his rematch with Anthony Joshua at his Dubai training camp.
And Bakole added: “Even Usyk, I stopped him in sparring in Dubai, he knows that.”
Usyk is currently heading into a full division unification with WBC world champion Tyson Fury, which is targeted to take place on April 29 at Wembley Stadium in London.
If Fury-Usyk moves forward, then the WBA could potentially order Dubois to make a mandatory defense against Bakole, who holds the number two ranking with the sanctioning body. The number one ranking is vacant.