The circumstances surrounding the withdrawal of Agit Kabayel from a IBF final eliminator with Martin Bakole has spun into an entire saga by itself as German newspaper BILD claims Bakole’s purse demands had severely deteriorated negotiations, leading to Kabayel’s eventual withdrawal from last week’s scheduled purse bid ceremony on the advice of his manager.
According to BILD, the most prominent issue that prevented a fight between Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KO’s) were Martin Bakole’s (21-1, 16 KO’s) purse demands during negotiations―which reportedly ranged from $2.5 to $3.5 million dollars. The newspaper also divulged the presence of “the Saudi’s” during these negotiations, thereby linking the now-cancelled Kabayel-Bakole fight to the Saudi-owned Riyadh Season―which in turn is organized by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and pinpoints its chairman, Turki Alalshikh, in being involved.
BILD further claims that Bakole consistently demanded the steep payouts despite numerous negotiation attempts. Proving unwilling to pay that amount, the Saudi’s eventually pulled out, and as the negotiations collapsed a scheduled purse bid hearing was eventually scheduled for November 5.
The news of Kabayel’s withdrawal came more than a week later and painted Kabayel as the culprit for the IBF final eliminator’s1 collapse though the BILD maintains that Kabayel had been eager to face Bakole and that Kabayel had pulled out upon his manager Spencer Brown’s advice after becoming disillusioned by Bakole’s demands.
Interestingly, the German newspaper also suggests that Kabayel is in the midst of arranging a fight with Chinese powerhouse Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KO’s) in the same IBF final eliminator to decide the IBF mandatory in the heavyweight (200+ lbs) division. Zhang was recently ordered to face Bakole in place of Kabayel. February 2025 has been picked as a potential date for a Kabayel-Zhang fight to occur.
Highlighted as the most plausible reasons for a fight between Kabayel and Zhang coming to fruition is Kabayel’s current status as a free agent, as revealed by BILD, which gives him great wiggle room to align himself with any promotion―whether for a single fight or more. Kabayel is also managed by Spencer Brown, head of UK-based Goldstar Promotions, who is well-connected to Queensberry Promotions chairman Frank Warren and Turki Alalshikh. Brown is also the manager of former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO’s).
As Zhang is a Queensberry Promotions fighter, the possibility of a fight between Zhang and Kabayel becomes more plausible―especially if Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season were to be involved. However, both Zhang and Kabayel are also potential candidates to face IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KO’s) after the IBF recently cleared Dubois to participate in a voluntary title defense in early 2025.
Neither Agit Kabayel or manager Spencer Brown have yet come out to dispute BILD’s claims.
- A final eliminator in boxing is a high-stakes bout between two fighters, with the winner earning the right to challenge the current champion for a world title―often culminating in them becoming a “mandatory challenger”. It’s often organized by a sanctioning body (like the WBA, WBC, WBO or IBF) between the two highest-ranked contenders. ↩︎
