Joshua offered Fury alternative to decide ‘real king of Africa’

Anthony Joshua has been offered a fight with fast-rising Congolese heavyweight Martin Bakole as an alternative to Tyson Fury. If the all-British showdown is unable to be completed Bakole’s coach Billy Nelson has recommended a fight in Congo between the pair to decide who the ‘real king of Africa’ is.

Before a fight with Fury was placed on the table, Eddie Hearn had spoken about a rebuilding fight against a top 15 opponent. The names that were mentioned were Otto Wallin and Zhang Zhilei but Nelson is confident a fight with Bakole would generate far more interest, particularly in Africa.

“This can be who’s the real king of Africa, that’s how they would try to sell it. The biggest fight in history was the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire,” Nelson told Express Sport. “Martin was born in Kananga and educated in Kinshasa and that’s where that fight was. I know for a fact that the Congolese government will back it one hundred per cent. I’ve been told by the government that they would back an Anthony Joshua fight in Congo.

“You take that fight to Kinshasa and there will tens of thousands of people there. The interest in Africa would be huge. 1.1million people watched his fight with Tony Yoka, now, how many people are going to watch Martin vs AJ in Africa? AJ would get the money that he demands because the government would help out. You’d get huge sponsors over in Africa as well. I did offer it to 258 (Joshua’s management) but they weren’t interested.”

Outside of competition, Bakole has generated a reputation as one of heavyweight boxing’s top sparring partners. The 30-year-old was among Oleksandr Usyk’s main sparring partners for his two fights with Joshua and has shared the ring with the Watford powerhouse on multiple occasions as well.

When asked how those spars with AJ went, Nelson replied: “I was there, they were very even and competitive spars. But Martin’s nobody’s sparring partner. Although he’s sparred all the best fighters, Martin’s nobody’s sparring partner, he’s there to prepare for his own fights.”