Martin Bacall and Zhili Zhang could fight next in the final eliminator ordered by the IBF. The IBF has ordered #4 Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) and #5 Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) for the next fight. Zhang-Bakole will be a monster movie type fight, a match between two slow but powerful heavyweights with punching power reminiscent of George Foreman.
If this fight pans out, Bucol could find his match against two-time Chinese Olympian Zhang, a big counter puncher with KO power in both hands.
Bicol faces his first major puncher.
Zhang can take a punch, so he’ll be tall enough to connect with his shots, and Bacul may not be able to handle that kind of ‘big bang’ power.
Although Bacall is a good fighter, he hasn’t fought anyone who can land punches during his 10-year career. He was knocked out by Michael Hunter in the tenth round in 2018. Bacall has won 10 fights since that loss, but he is the best man Jared Anderson has fought in those six years.
He is not someone without experience who will fold as Bicol’s final opponent Jared Anderson on August 3. Jared looked like a green rookie and had no business fighting a heavy puncher like Bukol in the early stages of his career.
Former WBO interim champion Zhang, 41, defeated Deontay Wilder by fifth-round knockout on June 1 in Riyadh earlier this year. Zhang made it easy to stop former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder. If Zhang has the same form he did against Wilder, Bukol won’t last long.
Zhang’s gas tank remains a question mark.
Earlier this year on March 8, a heavy-looking Zhang lost a 12-round majority decision to Joseph Parker. Despite beating Parker twice in the competition, it was not one of Zhang’s better performances. He gassed out after three rounds, and for the rest of the fight it was all he could do to land a handful of punches.
This fight showed Zhang’s limitations. He’s a big puncher, but if he can’t get an early knockout he’s out quickly, and he makes the average heavyweight look pretty good. Parker and Zhang’s fight against Jerry Forrest and Philip Hurgovich is a case in point.
Agit Kabayel was originally supposed to fight Bakole but took a different approach. On February 22, Kabayel could be the next opponent for IBF champion Daniel Dubois.
