Promoter Ben Shalom has stated that his fighter, IBF No. 4 ranked Martin Bakul (21-1, 16 KOs), is prepared to be the challenger for IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) to defend against him on 22 February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Anthony Joshua and his team opted not to fight a rematch with Dubois in February, leaving the IBF champion needing a challenger to defend himself on February 22.
The IBF ordered Pacolli to face #3 Ajit Kapil in a title eliminator to determine a mandatory for Dubois. However, Bakool is willing to go straight to the Dubois fight as a volunteer challenger if the champion is interested in facing him.
Joseph Parker has been mentioned as one of the potential competitors DuBois and his team are considering. He wouldn’t be as interesting an opponent for Dubois as Pacoli, 31, because defending against Parker would require a lot of chasing around the ring. Parker became a defensive fighter and was not fun to fight due to his movement.
“Martin Pacaul is ready to face Daniel Dubois next. If they’re looking for an opponent for Daniel for February, Martin is ready to step in,” Ben Shalom told Sky Sports News of his fighter Martin Pacaul, who is set to challenge Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title on February 22. “…
Shalom feels that Bakool is ready to take down Dubois now if given the opportunity, as he has all the physical weapons on offense to win this fight. Baculli has Foreman-like explosiveness that will cause problems for Dubois, and he can take his power shots.
He will not be on the defensive as Joshua was on September 21 at Wembley Stadium. Dubois looked like a wolf stalking his prey that night, eventually catching up to Joshua and knocking him out in the fifth round in front of more than 90,000 fans.
The Congolese-born Bakoli has won 10 straight fights since suffering his only career defeat, a 10th-round knockout loss to Michael Hunter on October 13, 2018. In Bakoli’s last fight, he knocked out previously unbeaten American heavyweight Jared Anderson in the fifth round. on August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Bakoli dropped Anderson once in the first round and twice more in the fifth to earn the knockout.
“he [Bakole] He beats Daniel Dubois, so he can unify the division. I’m not surprised AJ didn’t want to fight him again after that – but Martin Bakool is a different animal. He would be too strong and too skilled for Dubois.
Shalom says the plan is for IBF champion Baculli to defeat Dubois and then fight for the undisputed championship against whoever holds the other three belts. At this time, Oleksandr Usyk holds the other three belts.
Bacolli’s previous fight was in Riyadh, where he knocked out his former world title challenger, Carlos Takam, in the fourth round on October 28, 2023.
If Dubois chooses not to face Bakoli next, the Congolese fighter will go ahead with an IBF-ordered title eliminator against #3 Ajit Kapayel. The winner of that fight will be mandatory for Dubois.
Fans on social media believe Bakool is a dangerous opponent for Dubois, due to his strength, punch resistance and experience. They feel Dubois might lose. One poster on The place where Joshua collapsed against Dubois was in the chin area, and he was landing his powerful shots. Bakool doesn’t do that.
Dubois’ promoters may not want to take such a risk by pitting him against a fighter like Bacoli, as the guy has looked unbeatable in his last two fights. Of course, it would look good in the eyes of His Excellency Turki Al-Sheikh if Dubois was matched against Bakool. He loves to see great matches.
