TalkSPORT’s Michael Benson is reporting that the IBF has officially ordered a bout between their no. 4 ranked heavyweight Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs) and no. 5 ranked Martin Bakole (22-1, 16 KOs) to determine the next mandatory challenger to IBF world titlist Daniel Dubois.
The sanctioning body currently has its no. 1 and no. 2 ranking spots vacant, with the recently-defeated Anthony Joshua in the no. 3 slot.
The final eliminator is rumored to be targeted as an undercard feature on the December 21 Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury world championship rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 32-year-old Bakole, a Scotland-residing native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, made a massive wave on the boxing scene this past August when he stopped American heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson in a three-knockdown, five-round rout. The breakthrough win on the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov undercard at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles introduced the heavy-handed Bakole to American audiences and capped off a recent run of solid wins versus the likes of Carlos Takam and Tony Yoka. The lone defeat on Bakole’s resume came against Michael Hunter via injury-induced tenth round TKO in 2018.
Germany’s Kabayel, 32, is in the midst of a somewhat unlikely run of dominant showings that have wedged him into the upper tier of a resurgent heavyweight division. This past May, he stopped highly-ranked contender Frank Sanchez in seven rounds. Prior to that, he stopped the favored Arslanbek Makhmudov, dropping the heavy-handed Russian three times en route to a fourth-round TKO.
The winner of the Kabayel-Bakole eliminator would get next dibs on the IBF championship, pending current champ Dubois’ next move. The reigning IBF titlist is coming off an impressive fifth-round knockout of former three-belt world champ Anthony Joshua this past September. His team has yet to decide whether Dubois will wait out the winner of the upcoming Usyk-Fury rematch or go another route, possibly making a defense while deciding his immediate future career path.
The IBF’s decision also opens a path for the sanctioning body’s no. 6 ranked heavyweight Zhilei Zhang to step towards a rematch with Joseph Parker, who beat him via majority decision in March. Parker-Zhang 2, according to reports, could also land on the Usyk-Fury 2 undercard in December.
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