HAMBURG, Germany – Heavyweight contenders Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba have agreed to fight in 2025 on a date still to be determined.
They will meet in an eliminator for the IBF title currently held by Daniel Dubois, who defends against Joseph Parker on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the undercard of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol rematch. Bakole-Ajagba was originally going to appear alongside Dubois-Parker, but with seven major fights already on the show, it has been sacrificed for now and will likely appear on the next major Riyadh Season bill.
Boxxer promotes Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) and Top Rank has Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs). The subplot is that the avoided Bakole scalped another heavyweight Top Rank prospect when he stopped Jared Anderson, now 17-1 (15 KOs), in August. Now it is Ajagba who is in Bakole’s sights leading into 2025.
There had been speculation that the fight could take place in Africa, where Riyadh Season hopes to promote in 2025, but that is unlikely.
“It’s agreed to,” said Carl Moretti of Top Rank. “In Riyadh. It was supposed to be on the February show but they moved it off, so I anticipate it will be on whatever the next show is after February.”
The IBF currently has Bakole ranked third and Ajagba fifth, with the top two spots vacant. Frank Sanchez, who outpointed Ajagba in 2021, is ranked fourth.