BoxRec

Boxxer hoping to stage Martin Bakole-Efe Ajagba IBF heavyweight eliminator

Martin Bakole often finds himself as the odd man out in the heavyweight division.

With Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel facing one another rather than Bakole, possibly on February 22, it has left the Scotland-based Congolese fighter without an opponent.

However, with Bakole’s favorable rating with the IBF, there is a way forward.

The IBF champion is Daniel Dubois, the top two spots are vacant Kabayel is No. 3, Bakole is No. 4, Zhang is No. 5 and Efe Ajagba is No. 7 and the IBF have ordered Bakole and Ajagba to meet in an eliminator to determine the top contender for Dubois.

Ejagba is a 20-1 (14 KOs) Nigerian based in Texas, coming off a career-best split decision win over Guido Vianello.

Bakole is promoted by Boxxer while Ajagba is with Top Rank, and Boxxer’s Shalom says he is hoping to stage the intriguing match.

“That’s a fight that we’d like to put on,” Shalom said. “Obviously Martin’s fought on Riyadh Season cards and I’m sure they’d be interested again, but it’s a fight we’d like to put on, more because he’s one fight away, now, from fighting for a world title and there’s so much to that fight. We believe, once Martin gets his opportunity, it’s going to be a very long time before anyone’s able to beat him. So, we’re one fight away now from the promised land.

“Ajagba’s a great fight and I believe, from speaking to Top Rank, that it’s a fight that they would not be ducking out of.”

Thirty-two-year-old Bakole’s stock rose dramatically with a fifth-round destruction of Jared Anderson in California in August.

“Fighting Martin Bakole, would you want your heavyweight fighting Martin Bakole? People have probably looked at the last few fights and seen what’s happened to Jared Anderson, and he [Bakole] can make very good fighters look very average, and I think that doesn’t do a lot for him [in terms of people wanting to fight him]. Once he gets his world title, it will be impossible to avoid him.”

Great fight. Think Bakole takes it. Ajagba looked a bit lost against Sanchez but has been pretty dominant ever since (except Vianello). He also got dropped against Sanchez. Bakole should be able to break him down and finish him.

Terrible fight for ajagba , he getd rag dolled and stopped badly .

Yeah agree with the guys here, hard to find a way of Ajagba winning this one.

Very painful night for ejagba but should be good fight

Efe can win this

Efe gets annihilated if that happens imo

same old question from me what do you think they'll get paid?

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑30 Nov 2024, 15:37 same old question from me what do you think they'll get paid?

If it goes to purse bids we will know.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑30 Nov 2024, 15:56

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑30 Nov 2024, 15:37 same old question from me what do you think they'll get paid?

If it goes to purse bids we will know.

yeah it's me being a nobhead asking the same Q everytime apologies

If this was for a belt I would say efe has to chance it. But for a shot at a belt… I dunno if it’s worth it for efe unless this is an excelent payday in its own right.

I also tend to think if two people skip there ordered fight then the person should just become mando and be able to fight who they want with there h mando on the line. Going through negotiations again and again just because you’re a bit of a boogie man isn’t really fair.

I just don't think Efe has the skills to keep it at distance. You need a Michael Hunter strategy and Bakole will not like it (was begging Nelson to pull him out). Efe is going to struggle to keep him off although he could catch him at range. Bakole is pretty basic but he's game and hes coming at you. Unless you are highly mobile or have the ability to blow him out, you will be in a fight.

I don't know anything about Ajagba but if Bakole is fighting a live opponent, then I'll be interested.

Very curious to see how much Bakole has progressed from the Hunter fight (admitting he had an injury that hampered him). As we know Hunter is a very dangerous gatekeeper capable of producing shocks. Bakole looked very good in his entertaining fight with Anderson, where he took shots but blasted out a prospect. It was a confident appearance, the opposite of his showing against Hunter where he was dejected and wanted out.

As long as the heavyweights keep fighting each other, something positive, dramatic or surprising will happen.

Seems like the only person without a dance partner at the moment then is Joshua, still reeling from the Dubois pummelling.

Autobarn wrote: ↑01 Dec 2024, 04:37 I don't know anything about Ajagba but if Bakole is fighting a live opponent, then I'll be interested.

Very curious to see how much Bakole has progressed from the Hunter fight (admitting he had an injury that hampered him). As we know Hunter is a very dangerous gatekeeper capable of producing shocks. Bakole looked very good in his entertaining fight with Anderson, where he took shots but blasted out a prospect. It was a confident appearance, the opposite of his showing against Hunter where he was dejected and wanted out.

As long as the heavyweights keep fighting each other, something positive, dramatic or surprising will happen.

Seems like the only person without a dance partner at the moment then is Joshua, still reeling from the Dubois pummelling.

Highfield Boxing pod said they have mutual friends and AJ has taken the loss very hard. He said he's always believed he was leagues above him.

I think a lot of the successful amateurs just maintain something of that old amateur style, from Khan to Bernard Dunne and Michael Conan, and they pay for it in the pro game often resulting in shock KO defeats. Joshua still is very rigid and upright, seemingly the same vs Dubois as he was vs Ruiz I.

IBF has ordered a purse bid to determine the promotional rights and boxers' purses for the but. It is scheduled for Thursday, January 30th at 12 noon. Bakole, ranked #4 by the IBF, is 21-1 and coming off a career-changing win over previoulsy undefeated Jared Anderson in August.

Ajagba, ranked #7 by the IBF, is coming off a very close decision win over Guido Vianello last April.

The current IBF heavyweight champion is Daniel Dubois, who is scheduled to defend his title against Joseph Parker next month.

Bakole's opponent is also a character in the film / musical Wicked?

mickey1975 wrote: ↑01 Dec 2024, 05:23

Autobarn wrote: ↑01 Dec 2024, 04:37 I don't know anything about Ajagba but if Bakole is fighting a live opponent, then I'll be interested.

Very curious to see how much Bakole has progressed from the Hunter fight (admitting he had an injury that hampered him). As we know Hunter is a very dangerous gatekeeper capable of producing shocks. Bakole looked very good in his entertaining fight with Anderson, where he took shots but blasted out a prospect. It was a confident appearance, the opposite of his showing against Hunter where he was dejected and wanted out.

As long as the heavyweights keep fighting each other, something positive, dramatic or surprising will happen.

Seems like the only person without a dance partner at the moment then is Joshua, still reeling from the Dubois pummelling.

Highfield Boxing pod said they have mutual friends and AJ has taken the loss very hard. He said he's always believed he was leagues above him.

he was leagues above him a few years aago as was Joe Joyce .
but time doesnt stand still and as DD has improved / learned and developed his skill set they have aged and started to decline .

stevec@france wrote: ↑20 Jan 2025, 12:50

mickey1975 wrote: ↑01 Dec 2024, 05:23

Autobarn wrote: ↑01 Dec 2024, 04:37 I don't know anything about Ajagba but if Bakole is fighting a live opponent, then I'll be interested.

Very curious to see how much Bakole has progressed from the Hunter fight (admitting he had an injury that hampered him). As we know Hunter is a very dangerous gatekeeper capable of producing shocks. Bakole looked very good in his entertaining fight with Anderson, where he took shots but blasted out a prospect. It was a confident appearance, the opposite of his showing against Hunter where he was dejected and wanted out.

As long as the heavyweights keep fighting each other, something positive, dramatic or surprising will happen.

Seems like the only person without a dance partner at the moment then is Joshua, still reeling from the Dubois pummelling.

Highfield Boxing pod said they have mutual friends and AJ has taken the loss very hard. He said he's always believed he was leagues above him.

he was leagues above him a few years aago as was Joe Joyce .
but time doesnt stand still and as DD has improved / learned and developed his skill set they have aged and started to decline .

Joe didn't half make hard work of it considering DDD was 23 at the time if he's leagues above him.

mickey1975 wrote: ↑20 Jan 2025, 13:14

stevec@france wrote: ↑20 Jan 2025, 12:50

mickey1975 wrote: ↑01 Dec 2024, 05:23
Highfield Boxing pod said they have mutual friends and AJ has taken the loss very hard. He said he's always believed he was leagues above him.

he was leagues above him a few years aago as was Joe Joyce .
but time doesnt stand still and as DD has improved / learned and developed his skill set they have aged and started to decline .

Joe didn't half make hard work of it considering DDD was 23 at the time if he's leagues above him.

well he moved as fast as JJ can ever move

Watching Bakole vs Anderson again, this Bakole guy is just a plodder. He's really not that good at all and should be outboxed by many. He's got no heart also as he was crying to be pulled out in the Hunter fight. Remember that fight because Hunter just kept it simple and won every round of the fight off basic boxing because Bakole is so limited. The division isn't exactly loaded with great talent so Bakole might go far enough but he is very very limited for me.

TheLeprechaun wrote: ↑20 Jan 2025, 15:26 Watching Bakole vs Anderson again, this Bakole guy is just a plodder. He's really not that good at all and should be outboxed by many. He's got no heart also as he was crying to be pulled out in the Hunter fight. Remember that fight because Hunter just kept it simple and won every round of the fight off basic boxing because Bakole is so limited. The division isn't exactly loaded with great talent so Bakole might go far enough but he is very very limited for me.

I think his footwork is limited but his offensive shot selection is decent and carries power with most of his punches. If someone can avoid the punches and still put it on him then they will win but if they don't avoid the shots they'll struggle.

Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero, Haney-Ramirez, Bakole-Ajagba Set For Ring Magazine May Card

Turki Alalshikh, owner of The Ring and head of Riyadh Season, took to social media on Monday and officially announced the three official bouts for the first Ring Magazine fight card in the United States.

It was also revealed that the upcoming card will be a collaboration between Ring Magazine and gaming company SNK. The show will be named after SNK's anticipated game release, Fatal Fury: City of The Wolves.

The event will take place on a date in May. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.

The main event will see a welterweight grudge match, as Ryan Garcia will return to the ring against former world champion Rolando 'Rolly' Romero.

In the co-feature, a battle of former unified world champions, as Devin Haney will return to the ring against battle-tested Jose Ramirez.

The third bout will be a showcase battle of heavyweight punchers, with Martin Bakole colliding with Efe Ajagba in an IBF final eliminator. The winner will get a world title crack at the winner of the upcoming clash between champion Daniel Dubois and challenger Joseph Parker, which takes place on February 22 in Saudi Arabia.

As previously reported by The Ring, should Haney and Garcia win their upcoming bouts, they will collide in a highly anticipated rematch in the month of October in Saudi Arabia, as part of the opening for the next Riyadh Season.

I’ll
Be amazed if Ajagba doesn’t pull out.