Martin Bakole is slowly fighting his way to a shot at the world heavyweight championship.
Bakole had a chance to back all that up on the big stage when he faced rising American star Jared Anderson in August. Anderson’s punches bounced off Bakole, who sent thudding shots back and dropped him three times on his way to scoring the stoppage in the fifth.
Post-fight, Bakole has called for fights with all of the top contenders and champions. Trainer Billy Nelson recently told Seconds Out that his man was so avoided that their only choice was to force a title shot through the rankings system.
That appears to be the case now, with TalkSPORT’s Michael Benson reporting that Bakole has been ordered by the IBF to face Agit Kabayel to determine the number one challenger for Daniel Dubois’ world title. Bakole and Kabayel are currently number three and four respectively for the sanctioning body with the top two spots empty.
Dubois was elevated to full champion when the belt was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk. He defended it recently in emphatic fashion against Anthony Joshua.
Both heavyweights are held in high regard by Riyadh Season, the promotion on which the fight is likely to land. Bakole has stopped Carlos Takam and Jared Anderson on the outfit’s cards and Kabayel upset the odds against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez to keep his undefeated record and rejuvenate a relatively stagnant career.
The pair were previously being mentioned alongside Joseph Parker, so this order – if it is followed through – could mean that Parker will now fight his own rematch with Zhilei Zhang after beating him on points back in March.
