Exciting heavyweight clash ordered between KO artists to determine Daniel Dubois’ mandatory challenger

The IBF has ordered a final eliminator between Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba to determine the mandatory for Daniel Dubois' world title.

No.4 ranked Bakole was initially ordered to face No.3 rated Agit Kabayel by the IBF.

However, the German boxer pulled out of the purse bids resulting in the next highest-ranked boxer Zhilei Zhang (No.5) receiving the call to fight Bakole.

Zhang would also turn down the bout while it has since been reported that Kabayel and 'Big Bang' are slated to face each other on a stacked Saudi card on February 22 headlined by Dubois vs Joseph Parker for the IBF heavyweight title.

As a result, the IBF has moved further down their rankings to choose No.7 rated Ajagba.

In doing so, they bypassed Frank Sanchez (No.6), who lost to Kabayel in May.

Ajagba's promoter Top Rank has given the fight the go-ahead by informing the IBF that their client is available for the fight.

The IBF has previously stated that Dubois will be notified on approximately April 22 of his mandatory for June.

Their rules state that the champion 'shall be obligated to mandatorily defend his championship within intervals of no more than nine months against the leading available contender in the heavyweight division as designated by the championship's chairman'.

The winner of Bakole vs Ajagba will earn that distinction.

Congolese puncher Bakole has been on an absolute roll since falling to defeat for the first, and to date, the only time in his professional career against Michael Hunter in 2018.

The 31-year-old has won 10 straight fights including a statement KO win over fast-rising American prospect Jared Anderson last time out in August.