Martin Bakole or Agit Kabayel could take the place of ‘NOT RATED’ atop the IBF heavyweight rankings and become the leading challenger to Daniel Dubois if they agree to the final eliminator ordered by the sanctioning body.
The promoter of 21-1 (16 KOs) Bakole, already rated No. 3 by the WBC and WBO, No. 1 by the WBA and fresh off a victory over Jared Anderson, insists the contest with Kabayel is one they would be willing to take.
“We love that fight,” Boxxer’s Ben Shalom told Sky Sports. “I think the only way we get it [a world title fight] is by forcing it to happen. I don’t think anyone that’s got a world title would want to risk it against Martin Bakole.
“He’s No. 1 with the WBA and in the top five with every [sanctioning] body. Soon there’ll be nowhere to hide.”
Kabayel, 25-0 (17 KOs), is also well placed among the alphabet rankings after consecutive victories over Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez.
“It’s a fight we’ve been talking about for some time, for me the two most avoided heavyweights in the world,” Shalom said. “The IBF are notorious for enforcing their mandatories so the best one for us to be involved in. We really fancy that fight.
“We’re hoping to get it done for this year in December. We’ll see what happens.”
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