Martin Bakole and Zhilei Zhang could fight next in an IBF-ordered final eliminator. The IBF has ordered #4 Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) and #5 Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) to battle next. Zhang-Bakole will be a monster movie type of battle, a match between two slow but powerful heavyweights with punching power reminiscent of George Foreman.
If this fight comes off, Bakole may have met his match in the two-time Chinese Olympian Zhang, who is a big counter-puncher with KO power in either hand.
Bakole Faces His First Big Puncher
Zhang can take a punch, so he will be around long enough to connect with his shots, and Bakole may not be able to handle that kind of ‘Big Bang’ power.
While Bakole is a good fighter, he’s not fought anyone who can punch during his 10-year career. He was knocked out in the tenth round by Michael Hunter in 2018. Bakole has won 10 fights since that loss, but he is the best guy he’s fought during those six years with Jared Anderson.
He’s not someone without experience who will fold like Bakole’s last opponent, Jared Anderson, on August 3rd. Jared looked like a green novice and had no business fighting a heavy puncher like Bakole at that early stage of his career.
The former WBO interim champion Zhang, 41, destroyed Deontay Wilder earlier this year by a fifth-round knockout on June 1st in Riyadh. Zhang made it look easy to stop the former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder. If Zhang has the same form that he did against Wilder, Bakole isn’t going to last long.
Zhang’s Gas Tank Remains A Questionmark
A heavy-looking Zhang lost to Joseph Parker by a 12-round majority decision earlier this year on March 8th. Despite knocking Parker down twice in the contest, this was not one of Zhang’s better performances. He gassed out after three rounds, and it was all he could do to throw a handful of punches for the remainder of the fight.
That fight showed Zhang’s limitations. He’s a big puncher, but he gasses out quickly if he can’t get an early knockout, and he makes ordinary heavyweights look great. Parker and Zhang’s fights against Jerry Forrest and Filip Hrgovic exemplify that.
Agit Kabayel was originally supposed to fight Bakole but opted for a different approach. On February 22nd, Kabayel could be the next opponent for IBF champion Daniel Dubois.