A boxer on the undercard of Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou got more than he bargained for in Saudi Arabia when he was stung by a wasp in the ring before swallowing it.
Muhammad Ali used to say that he could “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”, but Martin Bakole was left trying to regurgitate another stinger-wielding pest after his fight with Carlos Takam on Saturday evening.
Congolese fighter Bakole won the heavyweight undercard contest via technical knockout in the fourth round, but he had to work hard for the victory in more ways than one.
The 30-year-old had to be fully focused to deal with the brutal attack of his French opponent but was given an extra bout of pain when a fearless wasp flew into the ring and sting him inside his mouth before being swallowed.
After winning the fight, Bakole didn’t hang around celebrating for long and instead bolted straight to his dressing room where he vomited in an attempt to get rid of the gnarly insect.
He told iFLTV: ““I can’t believe it, I’m surprised. I’m still coughing until now. It stung me in the ring, then I was surprised it was in my mouth. It started from [my ear], went to my eyes, then I was surprised when I opened my mouth and it went in.
“I was vomiting in my changing room. I think it’s still here [in his throat], but I think I will be okay. I can feel it, it’s crazy. I think if it continues, I’ll just go to the hospital, because I can’t continue coughing like this.”
Despite requiring his unique brand of pest control, Bakole is already plotting a return to the ring and has called out Deontay Wilder as a possible next opponent, even though The Bronze Bomber is expected to go head-to-head with Anthony Joshua.
Bakole said: “He’s No 1, I’m No 2, why not have the fight? If he’s not ready, they should take him out of the rankings. I need that fight, maybe in December, maybe in January next year.”
The African fighter is currently ranked 12th by the IBF, ninth by the WBC and second by the WBA in the heavyweight division, with a record that reads 20 wins and just one defeat. 15 of his victories arrived via a stoppage.
Other possible next opponents include Daniel Dubois, Joseph Parker, Dillian Whyte and Zhilei Zhang.
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