The heavyweight collision between contenders Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba was moved on May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to the bottom of the Canelo Alvarez against William Scull event.
Bakole-Jagba was initially planned to fight at the 2nd Times Square event in New York. It makes sense to add the fight to Canelo’s map. For obvious reasons, it must be made up to attract interest. There is
Boxingscene Lance Pugmire brought the news that Bakole-Jagba was moved to May 3. Bakole (21-2, 16 COs) was knocked out in the second round Joseph Parker Last month, he came as a late replacement on February 22 in Riyadh.
Knockout threat
The 6’6 ″ Ajagba (20-1, 14 COs) is a much larger puncher than Parker, and there is concern that he can achieve a similar knockout of bakingols. It is a dangerous man for any fighter to face while they have a bad knockout.
If there is a prolonged consequences for bakingols of the Parker fight, Ajabaga can use it. Martin is not going to reject it. This is one of the Riyadh season events. So he can’t afford to say no.
Ajagba, 30, will run down from 13 months since his 10-round split victory over Guido Vianello last year on April 13 last year. The 2016 Olympic Ajaalba has won its last five fights since losing against Frank Sanchez with a unanimous decision of 10 round on October 9, 2021. Ajagba was knocked down in the seventh round of the fight and classified by the Cuban talent.
Bakole’s conditioning problems
Martin did not have a training camp to prepare for the fight, and came in on an outdoor shape of 310 pounds. Parker used Bakole’s conditioning and slow movements to strike him. The punch that Parker ended up for the knockout was one who didn’t see Bakole coming because he threw his own right hand. It was a shot he would usually have taken, but it surprised him.
It is a fight that may have won Bakole if its weight was in the 270 to low 280 series, but not at 310 pounds. He injured Parker with a large right hand in the first round, but he couldn’t finish him because of his poor condition.
Bakole was possibly on his victory of his fifth round victory over Jared Anderson last August when he was contacted to be Parker’s replacement opponent. He was in no form to fight with anyone, let alone a top five contender like Parker. This is a lesson for fighters: you must remain in shape between fights.
Last updated on 03/05/2025
