Martin Bakole has publicly said many times that he stopped Oleksandr Usyk with a body shot in sparring.

Sparring stories can be the stuff of legend – tales that are rarely ever proven to be real – or sometimes true accounts backed up by onlookers, even despite the many factors in the gym that might mean a fighter isn’t giving 100%.

Either way, the general rule is that what happens in sparring should stay in sparring, but occasionally fighters decide to speak out or share clips of what has gone down behind closed doors in the gym.

Bakole, who is currently ranked number one with the WBA, has claimed on multiple occasions that he managed to stop the unified heavyweight champion Usyk with a body shot in the gym and his trainer Billy Nelson recently backed up those claims.

“He’s sparred Fury, Joshua and Usyk and held his own each and every time.

He stopped Usyk in sparring, so why would he not think he could beat him. It’s fact, it’s fact. I mean have you ever heard Usyk saying it never happened?”

It has added to the speculation that Usyk is weak to the body and has seen opponents target it, most notably Daniel Dubois who had the champion down but his shot was ruled to be low.

The alleged incident came in Dubai when Bakole was out in Usyk’s camp ahead of the Anthony Joshua rematch in 2022.

The Ukrainian doesn’t usually respond to sparring stories, but after the Congolese heavyweight first made the statement last year Usyk said via Vringe that people shouldn’t believe everything they hear.

“People can make up different stories, but people shouldn’t necessarily believe everything they hear. Do not forget that boxing is not only a sport, but also a show. Therefore, many want to draw attention to themselves for PR or other purposes.”

Usyk currently has bigger issues to deal with when he attempts to beat Tyson Fury for a second time in December having already done so in May, while Bakole is fresh off a big win over American prospect Jared Anderson.