[5] Bakole made his professional debut on 25 March 2014, scoring a second-round technical knockout (TKO) victory over Cecil Smith at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa.
[6] After compiling a record of 9–0 (6 KO), he faced undefeated Ali Baghouz (10–0–1) on 11 November 2017 at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, with the vacant IBO Continental heavyweight title on the line.
The first few rounds were evenly contested with Bakole walking his American opponent down while Hunter remained on the back foot, utilising movement and picking his moments to throw combinations.
After a barrage of unanswered punches, referee Phil Edwards waved off the fight with 41 seconds of the round remaining, handing Bakole the first defeat of his professional career.
[11][12] Following a first-round TKO win over Ytalo Perea (11–4–2) in August,[13] Bakole was scheduled to face Gabriel Enguema on 19 October 2019 at the Utilita Arena, Newcastle.
[14] In what was a one-sided affair, Bakole won by fifth-round TKO in a scheduled eight-round bout after referee Ron Kearney waved off the fight following Johnson being on the receiving end of several unanswered punches, handing the durable veteran boxer the third stoppage defeat of his career.
[20] Bakole faced Joseph Parker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 22, 2025, taking the fight on just two days notice as a replacement for Daniel Dubois.