EXCLUSIVE
Martin Bakole believes he is the most avoided heavyweight on the planet.
The Congolese puncher has made a name for himself as a sparring partner for the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Joe Joyce, Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.
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He even claims to have knocked out the latter two in respective sparring sessions.
It is an unwritten rule in boxing that what happens in sparring stays in sparring but Bakole has been very open about his scraps behind closed doors.
Although these sparring stories have certainly helped build his name, they haven't benefitted him when it comes to landing the big fights he so desperately desires.
Bakole claims that the trouble he has caused top heavyweights in the gym has led to him being 'ducked' by several notable names.
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"I don't lie, I don't like to lie," Bakole told talkSPORT.com. "I always tell the truth. If you watch BOXXER's video you will see.
"I was live on Sky Sports and Oleksandr Usyk's manager came behind me and said 'This guy is going to be world champion tomorrow' because he knows, who I am, he was in the gym when I gave Usyk a hard time.
"Usyk never even touched me, I smashed him and knocked him out. I knocked him out with a body shot.
"I was getting out of the ring and they said he will need one week to recover.
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"People are telling me not to talk about sparring but people forget I'm from Africa and it's very hard for me to sell tickets so I need to sell myself.
"This is the reason why I accepted to spar with these guys because after I spar with them, I give them a hard time, people talk about me and they get to know about me.
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"It is a very big risk I took because now nobody wants to fight me because they know who I am in the gym...
"Ask anyone about me. Go ask Daniel Dubois about me, ask Joshua about me, ask Usyk about me, ask Tyson Fury about me, they will keep quiet. Nobody will say they gave me a hard time.
Wild sparring footage leaked of Martin Bakole sending Joe Joyce's headguard flying and then Bakole throwing up in a bucket
"I gave them all a hard time. I stopped Daniel Dubois twice, stopped Joe Joyce and Joshua oh, that was a big one, he was hurt that day."
The WBA No.1 is starting to get bigger opportunities now that Saudi Arabia has entered the fold.
In October, he dispatched Carlos Takam inside four rounds on the Fury vs Francis Ngannou undercard and is now set to face Jared Anderson in Riyadh Season's first overseas event on August 3 in Los Angeles.
However, that wasn't always the plan. Bakole claims there were initially talks for him to box Joyce in July but 'The Juggernaut' chose to face Derek Chisora instead.
"He said no," Bakole added when disclosing the discussions surrounding a possible fight with Joyce.
"His promoter Frank Warren came and said 'Are you ready to fight Joe Joyce at the O2?' I said 'Yes' but then my coach came back and said 'Joe Joyce said no to me'.
"I was not surprised because he knew I was going to stop him in the first round. In sparring, I took him eight rounds but this time I was going to get a knockout in the first round.
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"He is lucky that he said no and has chosen to fight Chisora in an exhibition fight. That is my opinion.
"It's not like I'm not respecting Chisora but he is too old and he is just a name."
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