Martin Bakole finds himself in unfamiliar territory. Enduring a two-fight winless run for the first time as a pro, his head trainer is publicly criticising his weight management for the first time.

Many feel it's long overdue for someone many long revered as the heavyweight bogeyman at 33 years old, and Billy Nelson believes 2025 has served as a reality check with any fear factor long faded.

Bakole (21-2-1, 16 KOs) flattered to deceive for sustained periods and was forced to settle with a 10-round majority draw against Efe Ajagba on May 3, 10 weeks after a last-ditch gamble backfired dramatically against Joseph Parker in the Saudi capital.

Having visibly not been in fighting shape and weighing a career-heaviest 310lbs after wearily arriving in Riyadh on short notice after Daniel Dubois' illness-enforced withdrawal, Bakole lost to WBO interim titleholder Parker via second-round stoppage in their tense shootout.

Although his form has been anything but impressive since dismantling then-unbeaten Jared Anderson with a fifth-round knockout in August, he remains highly-ranked with multiple sanctioning bodies and sits No. 9 in The Ring's divisional rankings.

The Scottish-based DR Congo international is rated No. 4 by the WBC and No. 5 with the WBA at present, knowing the division could very well fragment once more after Oleksandr Usyk rematches Dubois for undisputed status on July 19.

He weighed 299 pounds against Ajagba, the same number he tipped the scales at before a fourth-round finish of faded contender Carlos Takam on his Riyadh Season debut in October 2023.

His reasoning for coming so heavy then was a mixture of a troublesome back injury and inability to train properly, but this time there was no such excuse.

He looked sluggish and defensively vulnerable against Ajagba — buoyed by an assertive start — as many neutrals felt the Nigerian did enough to edge past him over the 10-round distance.

An immediate rematch was co-signed by both, eager to settle their all-Africa derby, while Team Bakole anticipated movement from a sanctioning body to issue a title eliminator as they've done previously.

Bakole-Ajagba was originally slated to be a final IBF eliminator for Dubois' world title, an opportunity Bakole relinquished by accepting a shot at Parker's interim WBO championship.

"Unlike Moses Itauma who picks and chooses his opponents, we'll fight anybody and Turki Alalshikh knows that," Nelson told The Ring.

"If you accept a Joseph Parker fight on 36 hours' notice, obviously your balls are in the right place. It didn't work but we're confident it will going forward, especially after last time out."

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs) is set to headline a Riyadh Season show on Aug. 16 against longtime contender and former two-time WBC interim champion Dillian Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs).

Riyadh Season head Alalshikh has called for an Itauma-Bakole showdown, and the veteran watched ringside as The Ring's 2024 Prospect of The Year opened his account for 2025 with a second-round stoppage win over Mike Balogun in Glasgow, Scotland, on May 24.

The outside noise predictably heightened after Nelson stressed a need for his charge to take better care of his body, if he was to be serious about maximising his potential.

He told The Ring's Louis Hart of plans to hire a nutritionist and American strength-and-conditioning coach, though the vegetarian needed to be more strict and disciplined with his food intake.

"He's got to understand it, otherwise he won't have the future I know he's capable of. I've seen him do things in the gym that no other fighters do, but with the belly and all, that's a substandard Bakole performance. He's so much better than that."

After some weeks had passed, he was asked to assess the performance and further insight into Bakole's mindset, aware that other contemporaries were suddenly calling him out.

"It was the weight, nothing to do with a lack of energy. He won rounds eight through 10. It wasn't that he wasn't fit, just too heavy. That fight was a reality check, he's very angry with himself, was back in the gym quickly and we're hopefully preparing for another one around August-September."