Negotiations for Bakole vs. Kabayel Fight Fall Through

The anticipated bout between Congolese boxer Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) and Germany's Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs) has been called off. According to insider Michael Benson, citing Bakole's trainer Billy Nelson, Kabayel has withdrawn from negotiations for the fight, which was set to determine the mandatory challenger for the IBF heavyweight title currently held by Britain's Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs).

It is now likely that the IBF will arrange a match between Bakole and China's Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs), who occupies the next position in the IBF heavyweight rankings.

In May, Agit Kabayel secured a seventh-round knockout against Frank Sanchez, while in August, Martin Bakole achieved a fifth-round knockout victory over Jared Anderson.

Zhilei Zhang, in June, defeated Deontay Wilder via technical knockout in the fifth round.