Martin Bakole has hit back at Anthony Joshua saying Efe Ajagba will beat him in their mooted IBF final eliminator and has vowed to knock the two-time unified champion out.
Bakole is set to fight Ajagba this year to determine the next mandatory challenger for Daniel Dubois‘ IBF heavyweight title.
Former title-holder Joshua, who was stopped in five rounds by Dubois in September, has backed Nigerian heavyweight Ajagba to secure his shot at world honours with victory over Bakole.
He told The Voice: “Two giants of Africa coming together to collide. It’s going to be an interesting fight.
“Efe is a good boxer, and obviously, I’m going to support Efe, even though he doesn’t support me.
“I’m backing him because we are from the same place, and I really want to see him do well.”
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Bakole vows to knockout Joshua in scathing social media video
Congolese heavyweight Bakole is in the form of his career, having picked up signature victories over Carlos Takam and most recently Jared Anderson in his last two outings.
The 31-year-old has accused the top heavyweights of avoiding him in the past but knows a win over Ajagba will seal a shot at IBF champion Dubois.
Bakole has not taken kindly to Joshua’s comments however, and has promised to inflict pain on the Briton once he has dealt with the Nigerian.
In a video posted to social media, he said: “Hey, Anthony Joshua. This video is for you.
“I wanted to knock you out and now you’re talking sh*t, saying Ajagba is going to beat me. Shame on you.
“How many times did I call you out? How many times did I ask you to fight in Africa? I want to fight you…after knocking Ajagba out, I will knock you out.”
Joshua’s next fight unclear following Dubois stoppage
Former two-time unified champion Joshua last appeared in the fifth-round defeat to fellow countryman Dubois in September.
An immediate rematch initially looked to be on the cards, but Dubois’ first defence has subsequently been announced against former WBO champion Joseph Parker.
The identity of Joshua’s next opponent is not yet clear, though the 35-year-old has spoken of his desire to finally face fellow Briton Tyson Fury this week.
Joshua told SportBoom: “I’ve been involved in a whole lot of fights, but this [the Fury fight] has to happen in 2025.
“Of course it has to happen, and hopefully it does happen.”
Fury has suffered consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in his last two outings, which saw the Ukrainian crowned as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999.
Joshua and Fury were set to meet in Saudi Arabia back in 2021, before a US Judge ordered the latter to face Deontay Wilder for a third time.
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