Martin Bakole is 20st powerhouse who built his own shopping centre and became Saudis’ hero after misheard message

MARTIN BAKOLE was out digging ditches in a Congolese wasteland three days ago and now fights on the biggest boxing stage imaginable.

The 6ft 6in, 20st powerhouse set up training camp with Billy Nelson in Airdrie, Scotland, 16 years ago but has his family and child back in Kinshasa.

Despite having a USA fight scheduled for May, Bakole was enjoying himself — and building a shopping centre to be named in his honour.

But when Daniel Dubois was pulled out of tonight’s IBF heavyweight world title defence against Joseph Parker on Thursday night, the 33-year-old put up his hand.

Promoter Frank Warren had a couple of English heavyweights training nearby Dubai who would have been quicker to ship in and easier for Parker to agree to… and to beat.

But credit to the fearless Kiwi, 33, for signing off on Bakole.

Thankfully for the British Boxing Board of Control medics — and their expensive scales — he does not need to make weight and did not arrive in time for last night’s preliminaries.

Bakole is a big boy at the best of times, even when training in Greengairs or jetting around the world for sparring.

But when he has treated himself to a rest or is wrestling with an injury, he really fills out.

Before his October 2023 win over Carlos Takam here in Riyadh, Bakole was floored by a crippling back injury.

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Nelson hired him a live-in masseuse called Anna and — despite ballooning to 21st — he pulled off a brilliant win.

Incredibly, one of the reasons he was a hit with the young Saudi crowd was his repeated thanks to Anna for her work.

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The young Muslim fans thought he was celebrating Allah and cheered furiously.

If the videos of him helping with the construction are anything to go by, Bakole is injury free but not exactly fighting fit.

A middle-aged-dad paunch poked out of his midriff as he waited to fly here. So do not be surprised if the roly-poly puncher bounces into the ring somewhere near 22st.

Bakole’s odyssey to the Gulf of Aden has been so hasty that his Boxxer promoters and Sky Sports did not manage to reach him for a video interview to help plug the fight — and he was due to arrive here at 3am this morning

Thankfully, the loveable giant connected with fans on Insta and vowed to put Kinshasa back on the heavyweight boxing map — 51 years after Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s Rumble in the Jungle.

The underdog said: “I will shock the world. A boxer is like a soldier… any time they ask you to go to war, be ready.”

With his two best wins coming in America in August and the desert ten months earlier, Bakole is most famous among UK fight fans for being Anthony Joshua’s favourite sparring partner.

AJ became richer and more famous with every camp while Bakole seemed to be largely avoided.

Yet, before he went to Los Angeles to batter local favourite Jared Anderson last time out, he issued a warning: “For years I have been known as ‘the sparring partner’.

“I was happy to travel, happy to take little pay, happy to stay in a cheap place, happy to do as I am told.

“But soon I will get my chance. And nobody will ever be able to call me just ‘a sparring partner again’.”

Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk