Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Martin Bakole are all being targeted by a world-ranked heavyweight contender, with Bakole representing a particularly “personal” option.
The 34-year-old has not fought since his controversial draw with Efe Ajagba in May, when many believed he should have been handed a points defeat.
Prior to that, Bakole had suffered a second-round stoppage loss to Joseph Parker, who he faced on just two days’ notice, which followed his stunning fifth-round finish over Jared Anderson.
It was back in 2022, though, that the Congolese giant claimed arguably a more surprising upset victory by edging a majority decision against Tony Yoka.
Back then, this was considered little more than a development fight for Yoka, who had crafted an unbeaten record after claiming gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
After losing to Bakole, though, the Frenchman later suffered split decision defeats to Carlos Takam and Ryad Merhy, before reigniting his career with four wins on the bounce.
Now gearing up to face former world cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie at the Adidas Arena, Paris, on April 25, the 33-year-old hopes to eventually exact his revenge on Bakole.
Speaking with Playbook Boxing, Yoka – who is of Congolese descent – named Bakole, Joshua and Fury as three potential opponents after his clash with Okolie.
“I need to beat Bakole – that’s personal. That’s the first fight I lost, we’re both from the same country [The Democratic Republic of the Congo] and we need to make that happen over there, in Kinshasa.
“So I need to beat Bakole first, then I would love to fight Anthony. That would be a great fight, just because it would be so big – especially in my country [France]. It would be two Olympic gold medallists fighting in a stadium.
“And why not Tyson Fury? Tyson Fury’s one of the greatest [heavyweight] boxers ever. He’s so strange, but also he’s just too good.”
It is yet to become clear who Joshua will face in his comeback fight, which has been slated for July by Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn.
Fury, meanwhile, will face Arslanbek Makhmudov at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11 after ending his year-long retirement in January.
