Boxxer makes statement towards Martin Bakole.
The momentum of Martin Bakole has faltered dramatically less than two years after his career-best win.
After being stopped by Michael Hunter in 2018, Bakole went on a winning streak where he travelled to France to become the first to beat Tony Yoka and ventured to Poland to take out the unbeaten Ihor Shevadzutskyi.
However, it was an appearance on the undercard of Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov in August of 2024 that really shone the spotlight on Bakole.
It was on that occasion that the Scotland-based man from the Congo chewed up and spat out the hyped hope that was Jared Anderson, America’s most promising heavyweight contender.
That singular win gave Bakole the status of “boogeyman”, and every heavyweight in the world was warned to steer clear of him.
That was until he came in on short notice to take the place of Daniel Dubois against Joseph Parker, being taken out by the New Zealander in two rounds.
A draw against Efe Ajagba a couple of months later didn’t help much, especially since the majority of viewers considered Bakole lucky not to have been handed another loss.
A recent claim made by Italian heavyweight contender Guido Vianello that Bakole pulled out of an agreed fight on the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven undercard is the closest thing we’ve gotten to fight news since the Ajagba fight.
However, Bakole offered an explanation earlier today for why he has been out of the ring for almost a year.
In a post on his personal social media, Bakole wrote, “For everybody asking what is happening with me, I am ready to fight anytime, but one man is trying to ruin my career: Ben Shalom [promoter and founder of Boxxer]. I don’t understand why he is doing it. He has been earning money from me for years and years and has kept me tied up in a contract. My lawyer has confirmed that my contract with him is finished. I try to move on, and he sends crazy emails to everyone, blocking me from fighting and earning a living. He is trying to scare me, saying he will sue everyone if I fight and don’t pay him.”
Bakole ended the post by saying that he is ready to fight, but won’t pay Shalom “another cent”.
These are some rather large allegations, and Boxxer was quick to respond with a statement on their own social media.
In their response, they stated, “Martin Bakole remains under contract with BOXXER.”
They added, “Throughout our promotional agreement, we have enjoyed a good relationship, delivering major fights and securing career-high purses for him.
“We continue to work to secure the best possible oppprtunities for Martin, including a number of high-profile fights over the past 12 months, which he has either been unavailable for or declined.
“It is therefore disappointing to see these claims made publicly and as a result of third-party interference intended to cause damage.”
They concluded the statement by saying that Boxxer remains “fully committed” to getting Bakole back in the ring when he is able to.
For everybody asking what is happening with me. I am ready to fight anytime but one man is trying to ruin my career: Ben Shalom. I don’t understand why he is doing it. He has been earning money from me for years and years and has kept me tied up in a contract. My lawyer has… pic.twitter.com/73qeud9f2c
— Martin Bakole (@MartinBakole01) April 8, 2026
— BOXXER (@boxxer) April 8, 2026
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