Martin Bakole felt like a man who couldn’t be beat. After making it look incredibly easy against Jared Anderson in 2024, Bakole attempted to knock off another big name.

Although he wasn’t given any time to prepare, Bakole stepped in this past weekend with 48 hours remaining on the clock.

For whatever reason, Bakole’s confidence was sky-high. He believed that, despite the absence of a training camp, he had more than enough in the tank to get the job done.

In the opening round, they fought on fairly even terms. In the second, however, a stiff right hand to the top of Bakole’s head left him unsteady. Once the big man hit the deck, he crawled back to his feet. Ultimately, his corner waved things off. While he was disappointed, Bakole isn’t holding onto any hateful feelings. With that said, he does believe that he could have continued if he were given a chance.

“The time that Parker walked to me, I was going to recover,” explained Bakole to Seconds Out. “I was going to try and hold him. There was only 14 seconds left.”

Even if Bakole managed to burn out the clock, he admitted that he wasn’t in the best of shape. His insistence on jumping into the ring on such short notice stemmed from a financial gain and a possible shot at a world title.

Beating Parker would have resulted in Bakole snagging the WBO interim strap, placing him in the mandatory position to face current unified champion, Oleksandr Usyk.

By and large, Bakole is still in the mix. He’s highly ranked in most of the sanctioning bodies and should have a showdown against Efe Ajagba later this year. For now, he’s keeping his eyes on the prize but he can’t help but wonder how things would have played out if his corner didn’t throw in the towel.

“I was going to recover and come again.”