Martin Bakole’s instant acceptance of a Saudi Arabia replacement-bout junket that led to him getting knocked out has not passed without appreciation. Bakole has been invited back to Riyadh, taking his originally planned May 2 heavyweight showdown against Efe Ajagba at New York’s Times Square to the Middle East, with the pair now set to do battle on the undercard of the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-William Scull undercard May 3, an official involved in the deal confirmed to BoxingScene on Tuesday. On the heels of his destructive August 3 knockout of then-unbeaten young contender Jared Anderson in Los Angeles, Bakole, 21-2 (16 KOs), was sought as a last-minute replacement for ailing IBF heavyweight Daniel Dubois, who withdrew from his planned February 22 title defense against former WBA titleholder Joseph Parker, 36-3
