As veterans Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk approach the latter stages of their careers, boxing’s heavyweight division seems poised for a major shake-up. While Anthony Joshua may still have a few years of boxing left, new talents are emerging and making headlines. With his outstanding wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, Daniel Dubois, already the IBF title holder, appears positioned to leave a significant mark. However, he may soon face fierce competition from an exciting contender: the heavyweight from Congo, Martin Bakole.

Bakole, the younger brother of former cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu, is now ranked seventh in The Ring magazine’s top ten heavyweights list. Needless to say, Fury, Usyk, and Joshua occupy the top three tiers. But it’s time the diehards watch out for Bakole, who has been fighting in the shadows thus far since he commenced his career eight years ago.

Martin Bakole makes a breakthrough

Ahead of their rematch on December 21, Oleksandr Usyk heads the pack, with Tyson Fury closely following. The Ring Magazine rankings, which Michael Benson shared, have Anthony Joshua occupying the second position. Martin Bakole’s recent performance, including three consecutive knockout victories, might have added credibility to his claim as a rising star.

Since the time he walked the whole distance with Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka, Martin Bakole has found an easy way, through early stoppages, to shut down any questions concerning his position at the big game. Last year, after Ihor Shevadzutskyi, he wrapped former heavyweight challenger Carlos Takam, both in the early rounds. He had thus set the stage for a significant leap.

The opportunity came early this month. On the high-profile Terence Crawford–Israil Madrimov cards, Martin Bakole met the ‘biggest hope’ of American heavyweight boxing, Jared Anderson. Till then unbeaten, the hard-hitting Ohioan joined the fight with high expectations, following his final title defense in April.

The heavyweight shake-up: Bakole’s victory and future matchups

The fight ended in five rounds. But it gave sufficient time to Martin Bakole to send Jared Anderson down to the canvas three times. In the opening round, a big left hook, followed by a right uppercut, a straight right, and a one-two combination, had Anderson dropping for the first time in his career. He got up and made the referee’s count. Nevertheless, it was increasingly becoming clear that the fight was slipping out of his hands.

The second and third knockdowns occurred in the fifth round. About one and a half minutes into the round, a neat left uppercut did the job for Martin Bakole. Jared Anderson got up and resumed the fight. With barely a minute left now, two rights from the Congolese warrior had ‘The Real Big Baby’ going down again. The American heavyweight deserved credit for beating the referee’s count for the third time. Anderson pushed himself. But Martin Bakole had smelled blood. He wasted no time and launched a barrage of punches. Anderson’s plight was enough for referee Jerry Cantu to intervene and stop the fight.

Now it’s over to Daniel Dubois. Fans would be watching keenly whether he can stage a big upset by handing over ‘AJ’ his third career defeat. The duo square off at Wembley Stadium on September 21. A win might place him in line to face the winner of the Fury-Usyk rematch. Let’s not forget the trio of Joseph Parker, Zhilei Zhang, and Agit Kabayel, too, have upped the ante by scoring some impressive wins not so late. Thus, overall, the heavyweight division is in for some intriguing lineups in the coming months.

What is your take on the Ring Magazine rankings? Do you find it justified?