IBF blow for Ajagba as Bakole battles Parker
Nigerian heavyweight boxer Efe Ajagba’s highly anticipated International Boxing Federation title eliminator against Martin Bakole is now in serious doubt after the Congolese fighter agreed to replace ill champion Daniel Dubois against Joseph Parker in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night, Saturday NewsNGR reports.
Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs), who was originally scheduled to face Ajagba in May in New York, will now step in for Dubois, who was forced to withdraw from his IBF heavyweight title defence due to illness just two days before the fight.
The sudden change has thrown the planned IBF eliminator into disarray, with boxing insiders questioning whether the Ajagba-Bakole bout can still proceed as scheduled in less than three months.
According to Ring Magazine, the IBF is now uncertain about how to proceed with picking their mandatory challenger following these developments, especially as the winner of Ajagba vs Bakole was supposed to challenge Dubois for the world title.
Dubois, 27, who sensationally knocked out Anthony Joshua in five rounds at Wembley Stadium in September, was scheduled to make his second defence of the IBF title he claimed after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt.
The British champion was medically evaluated in Saudi Arabia and missed Thursday’s news conference before being officially withdrawn later in the evening.
“If he is ill, I hope he gets better soon and I’m looking forward to Saturday and having a great show,” Parker told reporters before learning of Bakole stepping in as his replacement.
The highly rated 33-year-old Bakole, who is based in Scotland, has emerged as one of the most feared heavyweights in the division, particularly after his impressive fifth-round demolition of previously unbeaten American prospect Jared Anderson in California last August.
After that victory, Bakole declared, “You don’t stand with Martin Bakole. I am a big man and I am a machine. No one wants to fight me.”
Before Bakole was announced as Dubois’ replacement, former cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie, heavyweight contender David Adeleye, and unbeaten Mourad Aliev were all considered as potential opponents for Parker.
Some boxing experts believe Bakole’s decision to face Parker rather than wait for Ajagba represents a riskier path, as the Congolese fighter was considered stronger and more experienced than the Nigerian, making the Ajagba bout potentially an easier route to a title shot.
Ajagba, who boasts an impressive record of 20 wins and just one loss with 14 knockouts, had been in a confident mood ahead of the proposed eliminator, recently taunting Bakole on Instagram with the message, “Coming to woop your as* the Naija way.”
The ‘Silent Roller’ has won his last five fights since suffering his lone professional defeat to Frank Sanchez in October 2021, and had been preparing for what would have been the biggest opportunity of his career to date.
The IBF eliminator was set to feature on a stacked card organised by Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh, alongside high-profile matchups including Ryan Garcia vs Rolando Romero and Devin Haney vs Jose Ramirez.
The International Boxing Federation had recently cancelled its scheduled purse bid hearing for the Ajagba-Bakole bout, allowing promoters BOXXER and Top Rank to negotiate terms privately for their respective fighters.
However, with Bakole now facing Parker, who has defeated other power punchers like Deontay Wilder and China’s Zhilei Zhang, the future of the Nigerian’s world title path remains uncertain pending the outcome of Saturday’s fight in Riyadh.
