Bakole vs Ajagba

Who won Bakole vs Ajagba?

Martin Bakole drew with Efe Ajagba by majority draw in their 10 round contest on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025, at The Venue, Riyadh.

The scorecards were announced as 95-95, 96-94, 95-95, meaning it was a majority draw.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 10 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant there was no weight limit.

This contest was a final eliminator for the IBF heavyweight championship of the world.

This fight appeared on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez beating William Scull for the IBF World Super Middleweight, WBC World Super Middleweight, WBO World Super Middleweight and WBA Super World Super Middleweight championship. Also on the undercard Jaime Munguia defeated Bruno Surace, Badou Jack was victorious over Noel ‘Gevor’ Mikaelian for the WBC World Cruiserweight title, Brayan Leon beat Aaron Rocha Guerrero, and Richard Riakporhe defeated Kevin Nicolas Espindola.

Bakole vs Ajagba stats

Martin Bakole stepped into the ring with a record of 21 wins, 2 losses, and 0 draws, 16 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Efe Ajagba made his way to the ring with a record of 20 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, with 14 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Bakole had a slight advantage in power over Ajagba, with a 76% knockout percentage compared to Ajagba's 70%.

Martin Bakole was the same age as Efe Ajagba, at 31 years old.

Ajagba had a height advantage of 2 inches over Bakole. That also extended to a 11-inch reach advantage.

Both Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba fought out of an orthodox stance.

Bakole was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 2 more fights, and made his debut in 2014, 3 years and 4 months earlier than Ajagba, whose first professional fight was in 2017. He had fought 6 fewer professional rounds, totaling 97 compared to Ajagba's 103.

Martin Bakole went into the fight ranked number 6 by the WBA, 4 by the WBC, and 10 by the IBF at heavyweight.

Efe Ajagba was ranked number 3 by the WBC, 12 by the WBO, and 3 by the IBF in the Heavyweight division.

Bakole vs Ajagba form

Bakole had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Joseph Parker on February 22, 2025, by knockout in the 2nd round in their WBO Interim World Heavyweight championship fight at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Prior to that, he had defeated Jared Anderson on August 3, 2024, by knockout in the 5th round at BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Carlos Takam on October 28, 2023, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Before that, he had won against Ihor Shevadzutskyi on April 22, 2023, by technical knockout in the 3rd round at Rzeszow, Poland.

He had beaten Tony Yoka on May 14, 2022, by majority decision in their 10 round contest at Accord Hotels Arena, Paris, France.

Ajagba had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 2 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Guido Vianello on April 13, 2024, by split decision in their 10 round contest at American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, United States.

Prior to that, he had defeated Joseph Goodall on November 4, 2023, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Tahoe Blue Event Center, Lake Tahoe.

Going into that contest, he had won against Zhan Kossobutskiy on August 26, 2023, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tulsa.

Before that, he had defeated Stephan Shaw on January 14, 2023, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona.

He had beaten Jozsef Darmos on August 27, 2022, by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tulsa.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Efe Ajagba had been fighting more than Martin Bakole.

Going into this contest, Martin Bakole had last fought 2 months and 11 days ago, while Efe Ajagba's last outing had been 1 year and 20 days ago.

Bakole's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 19 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 7 months and 5 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 24 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.8 rounds on average.

Ajagba's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 8 months and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 30 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 6 rounds on average.

What time did Bakole vs Ajagba start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 12:00 AM UTC at The Venue, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which was 8:00 PM EST or 5:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 1:00 AM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Bakole vs Ajagba?

Bakole vs Ajagba was broadcast on DAZN PPV in both the United States and the UK.

What were the odds on Bakole vs Ajagba?

Martin Bakole was a 5/1 (+270) underdog going into the contest, while Efe Ajagba made his way into the ring at 1/8 (+110) with oddsmakers.