The IBF-ordered Efe Ajagba-Frank Sanchez rematch will be made available to the highest bidder.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the abovementioned heavyweight title elimination contest is scheduled for an August 5 purse bid hearing. The designation was warranted after the two sides failed to reach terms during their assigned negotiation period.
All involved parties can still attempt to come to terms prior to the start of the purse bid.
Ajagba, 20-1-1 (14 KOs) is the IBF’s number three contender, one spot ahead of the number four ranked Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs). The number one IBF slot is vacant and can only be filled by winning a final elimination contest.
Should the fight move forward, the winner will become the IBF mandatory challenger to current undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, 24-0 (15 KOs). However, there will be a wait for the opportunity, as the WBO has already ordered a title consolidation contest between Usyk and Joseph Parker, the latter who holds the WBO interim title.
Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs), previously defeated Ajagba via unanimous decision in October 2021.
The win was believed to put the Cuban-born heavyweight on a path towards a major title. It never came close to transpiring, however. Sanchez made it to a WBC title eliminator against Agit Kabayel and suffered a seventh-round stoppage last May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Just one win has followed for Sanchez – a third-round knockout in a confidence-restoring mismatch on February 22 in Tijuana, Mexico. He was then stuck in a holding pattern when the IBF ordered him to next face Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic, 18-1 (14 KOs). The matchup was put in play in April, but talks never advanced and the matter was sent to a purse bid hearing.
The session was twice delayed and canceled outright, once Hrgovic instead agreed to next face David Adeleye, 14-1 (13 KOs) on August 16 in Riyadh.
Ajagba, 20-1-1 (14 KOs) re-entered the mix even though he is coming off a draw in his previous outing.
The 2016 Olympian for Nigeria – who is now based in the greater Houston, Texas area – seemingly did enough to edge Martin Bakole in their May 3 meeting in Riyadh. Two of the three judges disagreed, which resulted in a majority draw.
Their bout was originally pegged as an IBF eliminator. Sanctioning was removed, however, when Bakole accepted a last-minute opportunity to challenge Parker, against whom he was stopped in the second round of their February 22 clash.
Ajagba and Bakole still moved forward with their fight, albeit for lesser stakes.
Hrgovic’s refusal to move forward with a fight versus Sanchez opened the door for Ajagba to move within one win of title contention. He also now has a chance to avenge his lone career defeat.
Sanchez’s win over Ajagba remains the highlight of his career, as he was stalled out of the title
per IBF rules covering purse bids and sanctioned title fights and eliminators, Sanchez and Hrgovic are required to commit to the ordered eliminator to avoid losing their current top five rankings. Failure to move forward would result in the offending party dropping out of the top ten and no longer eligible to participate in an IBF-sanctioned fight for at least six months.
