Potential Moses Itauma v Martin Bakole fight plotted

Queensberry promoter Frank Warren has said he would be happy to sanction a fight between his heavyweight prodigy Moses Itauma and Martin Bakole.

Speaking to The Ring Magazine about the possibility of matching Itauma with Bakole, Hall of Fame promoter Warren said:

One million percent, I'd do that fight in a heartbeat.

20-year-old Itauma is rated as one of the top prospects on Queensberry's books, with the British heavyweight already having 11 professional victories on his resume, nine of which came by way of knockout.

Itauma's latest outing saw him blast out Australian southpaw Demsey McKean in just one round on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk v Tyson Fury 2 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2024.

Born in Slovakia to a Nigerian father and Slovakian mother, Itauma has emerged as arguably the most feared prospect in the heavyweight ranks, making it difficult to convince potential opponents to step into the ring with him.

Congolese heavyweight Bakole is now being earmarked as a possible opponent for Itauma, with the BOXXER fighter's stock having dropped following sub-par showings in his last two bouts against Joseph Parker and Efe Ajagba - losing his fight against the former and drawing against the latter.

Previously considered an avoided fighter himself, Bakole stepped up to the plate to replace Daniel Dubois and face New Zealander Parker as the co-main event for Artur Beterbiev Dmitry Bivol 2 with only two days' notice in February 2025.

31-year-old Bakole ultimately proved grossly underprepared, stepping into the ring noticeably overweight and succumbing to Parker via TKO in just two rounds.

The brother of former cruiserweight world champion Ilunga Makabu, Bakole again appeared out of shape in his most recent bout against Nigerian Ajagba in May 2025.

Formerly on the fringes of the world title picture in the heavyweight division, Bakole's reputation has now taken a dip, with potential fights against contenders further down the rankings now possibly on the cards.

A potential meeting between two big-hitting heavyweights in the form of Itauma and Bakole would undoubtedly make for fireworks as part of the box office fight cards currently being put on by The Ring Magazine.

James Wilson

• Queensberry
• BOXXER
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