Heavyweight makes claim that Martin Bakole pulled out of agreed fight.
Martin Bakole was–for a short while, at least–seen as the boogeyman of the heavyweight division.
This was due in large part to his destructive win over Jared Anderson, America’s then-unbeaten heavyweight hope. In that fight, Bakole displayed all the size and ferocity of a grizzly bear, first dropping Anderson in the first round and stopping him in the fifth.
This was a large boost for Bakole’s profile, and he instantly became regarded as someone nobody in their right mind would choose to fight.
He certainly looks the part, as well. The 6’6″ Congolese puncher regularly weighs in closer to 300 pounds than 200, and there were stories about how he’d knocked out all the world’s best heavyweights in sparring.
Then he got a short-notice call to replace Daniel Dubois as Joseph Parker’s opponent on the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev 2 undercard last year.
Bakole showed up, weighed in at a career-heaviest of 310 pounds, and was promptly stopped in two rounds.
And just like that, Bakole’s aura dissipated.
He did return under three months later against Efe Ajagba, but drew in a fight the majority of viewers thought he lost. That was in early May of 2025, and Bakole hasn’t fought since.
But if a separate heavyweight’s recent claims are to be believed, we were meant to see Bakole return to action next month. The reason why we won’t be seeing that aren’t clear as of right now.
Italian contender Guido Vianello posted on his personal social media a few days ago that he had fully agreed on all terms to face Bakole on the 23rd of May at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
That would have been on the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven bill, a controversial encounter set to be contested for the WBC heavyweight title.
Vianello claims that Bakole pulled out of the fight at the last hour and that no explanation or “excuse” was given from Bakole himself, Boxxer (Bakole’s promoters), or Billy Nelson (Bakole’s trainer).
Vianello ended his post with, “July sounds like a good time to find your courage again, unless you have finished with boxing now.”
Vianello is a former 2016 Summer Olympian who also fought Efe Ajagba, going the distance in a debatable 2024 defeat. Similar to Bakole, he also took on an unbeaten American hope in Richard Torrez Jr., but failed to emulate Bakole’s dominant performance, losing a decision over 12 rounds.
Vianello also owns a stoppage win over Arslanbek Makhmudov, and last time out, he knocked out unbeaten Canadian Alexis Barriere.
While a pairing between Vianello and Bakole would have been a fascinating watch, it is instead the aforementioned Torrez Jr. who will be taking on Frank Sanchez on the Usyk-Verhoeven show.
There is no official explanation as to why Bakole pulled out of the Vianello fight, but some have been speculating that he may have received a better offer and took that instead.
That hypothetical offer may have come from Queensberry Promotions, the home of a certain Moses Itauma, who Frank Warren claimed would be fighting an opponent in the top ten this July.
Bakole happens to be ranked #10 by the IBF, #8 by the WBA, and #6 by both The Ring and the WBC. So, he fits the bill perfectly for Itauma’s next step-up opponent.
However, this is purely speculative and not in any way official.
Fans will be hoping that won’t be the case for long, though.
👀 VIANELLO CALLS OUT BAKOLE OVER FIGHT PULL OUT
Guido Vianello: “My team had agreed all terms for me to fight Martin Bakole on May 23 in Giza, Egypt. I even signed the contract. It would have been an honour to fight for @Turki_alalshikh & @ringmagazine.
For some reason, he… pic.twitter.com/2LYS26oEIE
— EverythingBoxing | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) April 4, 2026
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