Bakole on Knockout Loss to Parker: "I Didn’t Even See the Punch"

Congolese heavyweight Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) shared his thoughts after suffering a second-round TKO loss to WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs).

Bakole admitted he never saw the punch that dropped him and explained why the referee stopped the fight.

"I think everyone saw what happened. But to be honest, I haven’t even rewatched the punch yet. This is boxing—anything can happen, especially in heavyweight fights. I sat with my coach and asked him, ‘Why didn’t you give me a second chance?’ And he said, ‘No, watch the video.’

I thought I could recover and come back, just like Joseph Parker did against Zhilei Zhang. But thank God I have a trainer who said, ‘No, no, as your coach, I have to stop the fight.’ It is what it is.

He caught me from above. I didn’t even see the punch because my hand was up here (near my cheek). I’ve never been hit like that before, and I just thought, ‘Whoa, what the hell?’ But I remember everything. I fell, and the referee was standing near Joseph Parker, looking down at me. I tried to get up, but my trainer and everyone around said it was too late because I was struggling to rise," said Bakole.

On February 22, Joseph Parker knocked out Martin Bakole in the second round. Originally, Parker was set to face Daniel Dubois, but Dubois withdrew due to illness. Bakole accepted the fight on just two days' notice on February 20.