The IBF in early October ordered a final title eliminator in the heavyweight division between Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) and Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs), with the winner earning the mandatory position for England’s IBF world champion, Daniel Dubois.
Bakole and Kabayel have yet to reach a deal, so the governing body took the next step on Monday by scheduling a purse bid hearing for Bakole vs. Kabayel on November 5. Any promoter registered with the IBF can lodge a bid; the minimum amount is $200,000.
The two sides can still reach an agreement up to 15 minutes before the bids are unsealed. Because both boxers fought their last two fights on Saudi Arabia backed “Riyadh Season” cards, this is a possibility.
Bakole, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo but is now based in Scotland, has only lost once in his 22-fight career — a 10th-round TKO at the hands of Michael Hunter in October 2018. Since then, the 31-year-old has racked up several wins, beating the likes of Mariusz Wach and Sergey Kuzmin, but it was his 2022 majority decision upset over Tony Yoka that really kickstarted his career.
The victory over Yoka earned Bakole a promotional contract with Ben Shalom’s BOXXER and eventually a spot on the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou undercard, where he impressively stopped Carlos Takam in four rounds. Bakole was called back on a “Riyadh Season” card against American heavyweight hopeful Jared Anderson. Bakole was once again the betting underdog but proved to be too powerful for Anderson, taking him apart in five rounds.
Kabayel, the former European champion, broke onto the scene with his 2017 majority decision over Derek Chisora in Monaco, however the German struggled to follow up the result with anything significant until getting matched with Arslanbek Makhmudov in December 2023. Kabayel was a heavy underdog in the bout, but he took the fight to Makhmudov, dropping him three times for a fourth-round TKO win.
The 32-year-old has fought once in 2024, taking Frank Sanchez’s zero by stopping him in seven rounds in their WBC eliminator in May on the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk undercard.
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