Riyadh Season kicked of their first USA card on August 3 at the BMO stadium in Los Angeles, CA with Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov as the headline act, but the fight that stole the show was the heavyweight bout between Martin Bakole (21-1, 15 KOs) and undefeated rising star Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs).
Martin Bakole shocked the boxing world when he ended the undefeated streak of American heavyweight Jared Anderson. It was one of the more exciting back and forth bouts in the heavyweight division in recent years, and a big upset of a top prospect on the come up.
Bakole headed into the fight as the underdog but questioned the narrative that he was just a step up fight to showcase Anderson. Bakole made sure that the doubters were proven wrong and after his performance he put the heavyweight division on notice.
In the first round Bakole made sure Anderson felt his power, he utilized a left hook, uppercut combo to hurt and drop Anderson.
The American got up and beat the count and showed heart throughout the fight. The main weakness of Anderson was his defense, he couldn’t avoid the hook and Bakole’s uppercut found its home on his chin many times in the fight.
In the fifth round, Bakole again landed the hook, and uppercut and it rocked Anderson sending him to the canvas, Bakole continued throwing hard punches which dropped Anderson, the fight was eventually stopped because it was clear that Anderson was badly hurt and wobbling even though he was able to beat the count.
This bout was a hard lesson for Anderson, he entered the fight ill prepared and also underestimated his opponent. He must fix his defense and learn to avoid the uppercut if he wants to continue in the sport.
Riyadh Season Card: Jared Anderson vs. Martin Bakole Fight KO Highlights
