Bakole and Ajagba battle to majority draw, call for rematch

Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba both want a rematch after tonight’s draw

Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba put on an entertaining heavyweight battle over 10 rounds, and in the end, the judges couldn’t split them.

Bakole and Ajagba fought to a majority draw, with two judges scoring the fight 95-95, and one giving it to Ajagba, 96-94. Bad Left Hook’s two unofficial score cards were also tight, each at 96-94 for Ajagba.

Bakole (21-2-1, 16 KO) bounced back pretty well from getting blown up in two by Joseph Parker when he took that short notice fight in February, and both he and Ajagba (20-1-1, 14 KO) did some good work. Ajagba was able to box well at distance and also come forward effectively, while Bakole showed his trademark toughness and landed some heavy shots, especially down the stretch, when Ajagba admitted he had tired a bit.

CompuBox saw Bakole land 145 of 460 total punches (32%) to 190 of 451 (42%) for Ajagba. Power punches were ery close, with Bakole landing 82 and Ajagba 84.

“I won the fight,” Ajagba said. “It’s not on me to decide. The judges score the fight. But I won the fight.”

Ajagba said he would like a rematch, but in the United States.

“After losing to Joseph Parker, I worked hard,” Bakole said. “I think I won the fight, but it is what it is. I will ask [Turki Alalshikh] if we can have a rematch.”

Bakole said if he gets a full camp for a rematch, Ajagba won’t last the distance.