On February 22, at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) continued his brilliant form, stopping late replacement Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) in the second round of their heavyweight clash. This win ensured the Kiwi fighter retained his WBO interim title. Bakole rolled the dice but ultimately came up short. Now, the dangerous Congolese fighter has been dealt a further blow, with the IBF final eliminator officially off the table.
Martin Bakole Faces Another Setback After Parker Defeat
IBF Final Eliminator Off the Table for Martin Bakole
Parker was due to face Daniel Dubois for the IBF title before Dubois was taken ill and ultimately withdrew from the fight, which led to Bakole taking the fight on three days’ notice and travelling to Riyadh with trainer Billiy Nelson, arriving in the early hours on the morning of the fight.
The Congolese fighter received a big payday but ultimately came up short against Parker, while already having an IBF final eliminator on May 2 against Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) for the right to become Dubois’ mandatory challenger.
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Following the loss on Feb. 22, an IBF spokesperson revealed to Fight Freaks Unite that “Bakole is out of the eliminator.”
“We will move on to the next leading available contender,” added the spokesperson.
Martin Bakole vs Efe Ajagba
Bakole-Ajagba will seemingly stay the course and take place in May. But it seems it won’t be for the IBF eliminator as planned.
Billy Nelson has had his say on Bakole and Ajagba when speaking to BoxingScene: “That fight is happening,” said Nelson regarding the Ajagba fight.
Read More: Joseph Parker Dominates Martin Bakole with Stunning KO on February 22
“It might be an eliminator, it’s not a final eliminator. It may happen in Saudi on the Canelo undercard [in May]. He got caught by one punch, that’s not going to define his career. Wait and see the difference in 10 weeks, when we fight Efe Ajagba. He’ll be back to being the bogeyman, or whatever they want to call him. But what he will do is he’ll have a full camp for every fight he has from now on. It was a one off, a huge risk, never paid off. There’s high risk and low reward, that was high risk and a very high reward there.”
After Bakole in the rankings is the Cuban fighter Frank Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs) at No. 4, who made a low-level return on Feb. 22, stopping Ramon Echeverria in Tijuana.
