Martin Bakole is still one fight away from becoming mandatory challenger for Daniel Dubois’s International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight world championship.
However, his Eliminator opponent changed once again. The IBF has now ordered Efe Ajagba to be boxed for the right to be the mandatory challenger for the heavyweight title.
Germany-based Agit Kabayel has already withdrawn from his eliminator bout with Bakole, and although his Chinese rival Zhilei Zhang, who was ranked fifth by the IBF, was eligible for the fight at the time, he is expected to go the other way.
Top Rank has informed the IBF that Ajagba is available for the fight.
The IBF has now ordered Ajagba, ranked seventh, to box Bakole, ranked fourth.
Bakole has been imperious in his last two games as he has held off Jared Anderson and Carlos Takam.
He is now going all out to take the IBF Championship, which Britain’s Dubois defended with a stunning knockout win over Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in September.
The Congolese fighter sent a warning to the division with a stoppage win over American Anderson.
“You don’t side with Martin Bakole. I’m a big man, I’m a machine,” he declared after his win. “Nobody wants to fight me.
“I’m a machine. I’m in this sport to dominate it. I want to be number one.”
Dubois is set to voluntarily defend his IBF title in February, with Joseph Parker expected to be a potential opponent for the British world champion’s next fight.
The IBF previously said Dubois would be notified of his June obligations around April 22.
They state that the champion is “obligated to make a mandatory defense of his championship within nine months against the leading contender in the heavyweight division as designated by the Championship Commissioner.”
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