It’s being reported that the Martin Bakole-Agit Kabayel heavyweight clash ordered earlier in the month will now be going to purse bid.
The mandated final eliminator between the sanctioning body’s no. 3 contender (Kabayel) and their no. 4 contender (Bakole) is set to determine the mandatory challenger to IBF champ Daniel Dubois and could get the shot as earlier as the first half of 2025.
When the final eliminator was first announced, it was speculated that the bout may take place on the December 21 undercard beneath the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury championship rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 32-year-old Bakole (21-1, 15 KOs), a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who now resides in Scotland, made a huge splash on the world boxing stage this past August when he stopped American heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson in a five-round, one-sided, three-knockdown rout. The impressive showing on the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov undercard at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles introduced the intriguing, heavy-handed Bakole to American audiences and topped off a recent run of impressive wins against fighters such as Carlos Takam and Tony Yoka. Bakole’s lone defeat came in 2018 against Michael Hunter via injury-induced tenth round TKO.
Germany’s Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs), also 32, has wedged himself into the top tier of the resurgent heavyweight division with a recent run of quality victories. In May, he stopped Cuban contender Frank Sanchez in seven rounds. Five months before that, he battered and stopped the favored Arslanbek Makhmudov, dropping the heavy-handed Russian three times en route to a fourth-round TKO.
A Bakole-Kabayel purse bid would open up the possibility that someone other than Bakole’s promoter (Ben Shalom/BOXXER) and Kabayel’s promoter (Ulf Steinforth/SES Boxing) might win the rights to stage that IBF eliminator. However, both fighters’ relationship with the cash-heavy Saudis might guarantee that the heavyweight clash stays “in house” and, consequently, on Saudi soil.
Bakole and Kabayel are ranked in the top 6 by the three other recognized sanctioning bodies as well, with Bakole listed as no. 3 by the WBC and WBO and as no. 1 by the WBA with Kabayel regarded as no. 2 in the WBC, no. 4 in the WBO, and no. 6 in the WBA.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com