Martin Bakole is poised to fight Joseph Parker on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports Box Office, after Daniel Dubois fell ill two days before his anticipated world heavyweight title fight in Saudi Arabia.
Bakole is flying to Riyadh as a last-minute replacement for Dubois who has a fever and missed Thursday night’s press conference to be evaluated by a doctor.
Parker confirmed he will still fight on Saturday night and his team accepted a last-ditch fight with Bakole.
The Ring Magazine – owned by head of Riyadh Season, Turki Alalshikh – was first to announce that Dubois cannot fight, while Bakole’s promoters BOXXER posted on social media ‘Parker v Bakole is on’.
“The fight’s done,” BOXXER CEO told Sky Sports. “He was in the Congo, he’s on his way.
“If you’re ever going to have a chance at beating Martin Bakole it’s on two days’ notice. But I still think he’s the favourite in the fight. I think a 50 per cent Martin Bakole beats both heavyweights. Fair play to Joseph Parker as well for taking Martin Bakole. Let’s go!”
Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren wanted a final decision to be made on Friday, while Parker said of his original opponent: “If he is ill, I hope he gets better soon.
“I’m looking forward to Saturday and putting on a good show. I’m ready to go. I’ve put in all the hard work. Come on Saturday.”
Joseph Parker was adamant he would still be fighting on Saturday’s card in Saudi Arabia
Bakole is coming off a career-best performance to stop Jared Anderson with a fifth-round knockout last August.
Lawrence Okolie, David Adeleye and Mourad Aliev were other options being considered, while Joe Joyce put his hand up to step in at late notice, telling Sky Sports: “For the right money, yes of course!”
Johnny Nelson was thrilled that Martin Bakole has been picked as Parker’s replacement opponent after Daniel Dubois was forced to withdraw from their fight due to illness
But Bakole secured the deal to step into the biggest fight of his career on Saturday night on Sky Sports Box Office.
“Martin’s always ready to fight anyone,” Shalom added.
“So everyone knew we were going to put our name in the hat, we were pushing for it. We don’t talk [rubbish] when we say we’ll fight anyone, we’ll fight anyone. To do it on two days’ notice is crazy.”
The change means Parker will no longer be challenging for Dubois’ IBF world heavyweight title, but the bout will be for the WBO interim heavyweight title.
Parker was set to be stripped of that belt on the sound of the first bell, but WBO president Gustavo Olivieri has confirmed the title will be on the line for Parker against Bakole.
“The winner will become the WBO mandatory challenger for Usyk,” Olivieri posted on X.
Nelson explained why Parker’s team would have been ‘ashamed’ if they had not accepted the Bakole fight
News of Dubois’ illness broke just minutes before the press conference for the ‘Last Crescendo’ fight card began on Thursday evening.
Sky Sports Boxing‘s Johnny Nelson said: “[Parker’s manager] Spencer Brown’s phone went off and he shot into the corner, people are scattering around, you’re wondering how they work through this.
“If they don’t pick Martin Bakole, they should be ashamed of themselves.”
A timeline: How a huge fight was made in barely three hours
See how the news broke that Dubois was being evaluated by a doctor
- Shortly after 5pm GMT on Thursday it was announced Daniel Dubois was being evaluated by a doctor after falling ill.
- At 6pm, the press conference for Saturday’s event began with Dubois not in attendance.
- During the press conference, Joseph Parker confirmed he would definitely fight, whether against Dubois or a new opponent.
- Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren refused to rule Dubois out, preferring to wait until Friday for a final decision.
- Bakole’s promoter Ben Shalom insisted Martin Bakole was “ready to go” if Dubois was ruled out and was negotiating throughout the press conference.
- At around 7.30pm GMT, Ring Magazine announced Bakole as the replacement opponent
- Shortly after 8pm, Shalom told Sky Sports: “The fight’s done.”
Shalom: Bakole ready at two days’ notice
Bakole’s promoter Ben Shalom is delighted that his heavyweight fighter will step in
Shalom was quick to put Bakole forward as Dubois’ replacement.
He said: “First of all, my heart goes out to Daniel Dubois, don’t know how he is, but what an opportunity this could be for Martin Bakole.
“I think it’s the best option for Joseph Parker in terms of a 50/50 fight.
“Martin will do it with two days’ notice. He doesn’t duck anyone, he wants everyone and now it’s open to Joseph Parker whether he will take on the challenge that is Bakole on two days’ notice.
“We’re still two-and-a-half months away from the Efe Ajagba fight so it will be the start of his camp, but Martin is ready, even on two days’ notice, whether it’s six, seven or eight weeks we believe he can beat anyone. We’re ready for the fight and let’s see what happens.
“The flights have been checked, everything is ready to go, the team is ready to go. We’ve checked with the trainer, Martin and we’re willing to be reasonable as well. That’s how confident we will be with that fight.”
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