Joseph Parker to fight Martin Bakole as Daniel Dubois withdraws due to illness

Joseph Parker will box Martin Bakole on Saturday as the latter replaces Daniel Dubois, who fell ill two days before his planned fight with Parker.

Dubois was scheduled to defend the IBF heavyweight title against the New Zealander in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but his involvement in the fight was threatened on Thursday due to illness. It was then revealed that replacements were being sought, in case the Briton, 27, could not compete.

After an altered press conference, it was announced that Bakole would replace Dubois to fight Parker, 33. Bakole is often referred to as boxing’s “most-avoided” heavyweight, yet Parker is set to risk his place in the title picture against the Congolese, 31.

Their fight will serve as the co-main event for Artur Beterbiev’s rematch with Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight titles.

At Thursday’s press conference, Parker’s manager Spencer Brown said: “There will be a fight Saturday. Whoever’s there, Joe’s ready to fight, he’s ready to go, he’s ready to win. That’s it. Whoever we’re gonna fight Saturday, Joe’s up for it. He doesn’t care, he’s one of them fighters: he’ll fight anybody.”

Parker added: “If [Dubois] is ill, I hope he gets better soon, and I’m looking forward to Saturday and putting on a great show. I am ready to go, I’ve put in all the hard work with my team in Ireland. I’m here now in Riyadh, and come on Saturday.”

Saturday’s fight card has been hailed by many fans and pundits as the “greatest” in boxing history, yet it was first hit by illness on Tuesday, when Floyd Schofield was removed from his planned bout with Shakur Stevenson. Schofield was due to challenge his fellow unbeaten American for the WBC lightweight title, but he was replaced by Josh Padley this week. Now Dubois has suffered a similar setback to Schofield.

Dubois won the interim IBF heavyweight belt by stopping Filip Hrgovic in June, before being elevated to official champion when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the regular belt. The Briton then retained the title in September, with a knockout of compatriot Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium. It is unclear what is next for Dubois or the IBF belt.

Regardless, Parker will enter the Kingdom Arena on the back of five straight victories, including signature wins over Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder. The Kiwi bullied Wilder across 12 rounds in late 2023 and climbed off the canvas twice to outpoint Zhang in March.

Bakole, meanwhile, has just one professional loss to his name – a stoppage by Michael Hunter in 2018. He has since won 10 fights in a row, most recently knocking out American prospect Jared Anderson in August.