by Keith Idec

MARTIN BAKOLE could get an opportunity to knock off another hard-hitting heavyweight promoted by Bob Arum.

Boxing News has learned that the IBF has ordered an elimination bout between Bakole and Efe Ajagba. The IBF’s mandate doesn’t guarantee that Bakole will face Ajagba because it will require a promoter to satisfy their purse demands.

Scotland’s Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs), a native of The Republic of Congo, is the IBF’s fourth-ranked contender for its heavyweight champion, Daniel Dubois, who will defend his IBF belt against New Zealand’s Joseph Parker on February 22 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Nigeria’s Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) is rated seventh by the IBF, but he was the New Jersey-based sanctioning organization’s next available contender to box Bakole.

The top two positions in the IBF’s heavyweight rankings are unoccupied, which is why this eliminator has been ordered.

The 6-foot-6, 284½-pound Bakole took his career to another level when he knocked out previously undefeated American contender Jared Anderson in the fifth round on the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov undercard August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Bakole knocked Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs) to the canvas once in the first round and twice in the fifth round before referee Jerry Cantu stopped their bout at 2:07 of the fifth round.

Arum and his matchmakers at Top Rank Inc. advised Anderson against accepting a lucrative offer for battling Bakole, but he was enticed by a payday that exceeded $2 million.

After extending his winning streak to 10 by battering Anderson, Bakole was offered what would’ve been a fan-friendly fight against huge Chinese southpaw Zhilei Zhang. When their handlers couldn’t come to an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh, Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) accepted an offer to face Germany’s Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs) in a 12-round fight for the WBC interim title February 22 at Kingdom Arena.

Zhang, who is ranked fifth by the IBF, is therefore unavailable to box Bakole. Sixth-ranked Frank Sanchez was bypassed for this elimination bout because he lost his last fight to Abayel, who knocked Cuba’s Sanchez (24-1, 17 KOs) to the canvas twice in the seventh round and knocked him out May 18 at Kingdom Arena.

That led the IBF to order Bakole to face Ajagba, who lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Sanchez in October 2021 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Nigeria’s Ajagba has won five fights in a row since Sanchez beat him.