The debate about who Africa’s No.1 heavyweight is rages on after Efe Ajagba and Martin Bakole shared a 10-round majority draw at the ANB Arena on Saturday.
Both men told The Ring this week that this was not only an important fight for their hopes of securing a shot at the world heavyweight title but also for the mantle as the best on their continent.
But when judges Bob Williams and Pablo Gonzalez both scored it 95-95, neither of them were able to claim that title – or press forward in their bid for a crack at one of the belts.
Ajagba had boxed patiently throughout, choosing to use his feet to stay out of trouble and build up a lead on the cards while Bakole (21-2-1, 16 KOs) walked him down in search of a stoppage.
Unsurprisingly, they both thought they had done enough to win.
Nigerian Ajagba (20-1-1, 14 KOs) said: “I won the fight to be honest, I won the fight but it’s not up to me to decide, it’s the judges’ decision. But if you ask me, I won the fight.”
Bakole, meanwhile, said: “I thought I won the fight but it is what it is. I will ask His Excellency if I can have the rematch.”
Bakole walked to the ring wearing a t-shirt that read RIP George Foreman in tribute to the heavyweight legend who died last month.
Bakole hails from DR Congo, which was the country that played host to one of Foreman’s most famous nights – the Rumble in the Jungle – and he wore the country’s flag on his shorts.
This was Bakole’s second outing in Riyadh in the space of 10 weeks after he answered the latest of call-ups to replace the sick Daniel Dubois in a scheduled fight with Joseph Parker on February 22.
That finished with a second round stoppage at the hands of the former world champion from New Zealand but Bakole had insisted this was the ‘real fight’ after a full camp.With so much on the line it was a cautious opener from both men.
Ajagba, the lighter man by 59lbs on the scales, was on his toes happy to circle around the outside while Bakole took the centre of the ring.
As an uneventful round drew to a close Ajagba landed a big right hand but Bakole took it well.In the second round, Ajagba slowed his feet slightly and sought to engage in centre ring but the pace was slow and neither man could make a dent in the other.
The third round was a good one for Ajagba until the final 30 seconds. Up to then he had moved well and taken his chances with a series of counter right hands over the top of Bakole’s jab. But his opponent came back with a left hook which sent Ajagba back to the ropes, where he stayed until the bell rang.
He was back there in the fourth and shipped another big left hook. By now Bakole was pouring forward in search of a stoppage but Ajagba was tucking up well in order to survive.
Then, whenever Bakole seemed to be on the brink of a breakthrough, Ajagba would land something sharp on the counter to slow him down.
Both men had put a lot into the fourth round and the pace dipped in the fifth as a result but there was still time for Ajagba to land another well-timed right hand. At the start of the sixth, when Ajagba began to box and move again, Bakole told him: ‘f**k you, man. Fight me’ in a clear sign of frustration. It got worse, too, as he tried and failed to pin him down at any point during the round.
He looked out of ideas in the seventh too as Ajagba continued to circle him, landing with occasional pot shots to head or body with the straight right hand. At the start of the eighth Bakole even appealed to referee Howard Foster about Ajagba’s unwillingness to engage with him but the Nigerian stuck to the plan and continued to box.
Bakole caught up with him in the final minute of the eighth as the fight exploded into life. The Congolese puncher managed to trap Ajagba on the ropes and got through with a particularly hurtful left hook but the bell came just at the right time to stop the onslaught.
More was to follow in the ninth but despite his corner imploring him to get off the ropes, Ajagba spent much of the round against them with Bakole chipping away with uppercuts to the head and hooks to the body.
Bakole continued his pursuit in the 10th and seemed to land with another left hook but Ajagba, yet again, found an exit and got back on the move.
The final minute was a tour de force in staying out of trouble from Ajagba, who circled the frustrated Bakole up until the final bell.
Once the decision was read out, with Kieran McCann completing the scoring with a 96-94 in Ajagba’s favour, the Nigerian said: “Of course I want the rematch.”
