LOS ANGELES – Martin Bakole put the next face of American heavyweight boxing to sleep Saturday at BMO Stadium, dropping “Big Baby” Jared Anderson three times to score a sensational technical knockout win.
The end of the fight came at the 2:07 mark of the fifth round as Bakole (21-1, 15 KOs) was bludgeoning Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs) with unanswered shots, forcing referee Jerry Cantu to step in to stop the onslaught.
It was an entertaining back-and-forth affair before the bout ended, as Anderson showed heart and resilience to give a solid account of himself. But he couldn’t stave off the upset.
Anderson was controlling the first round, but then Bakole crushed him with a thudding combination in the final seconds that set the tone for the rest of the fight.
Bakole set up the first knockdown of Anderson by connecting with a left hook and followed it up with a right uppercut that wobbled him. Bakole then added a three-punch combination to close the sequence to score the knockdown. The bell sounded just as Anderson beat the 10-count, the first of his career.
Bakole built on his momentum in the second round with a crushing uppercut. Anderson ate it well and instead chose to trade shot for shot.
Bakole continued busting up Anderson in the third, with the best shot being a chin-checking left uppercut. Anderson again stood toe-to-toe and gave it back to the Congolese contender.
The second knockdown resulted from a straight right and left uppercut combo. Anderson got back up, but Bakole connected with two straight hard rights, as Anderson crumbled to the canvas once again. A reeling Anderson got up only to eat additional heavy leather along the ropes before the fight was stopped.
Bakole outlanded Anderson 86 to 79 in the slugfest.
By Manouk Akopyan