Congolese boxer Martin Bakole has been called in as a last-minute replacement to fight Joseph Parker after the New Zealander’s shot at a title was called off, Afrosport reports.
Parker was initially billed to fight world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois on Saturday, but the bout will no longer take place after the Brit withdrew on Thursday evening due to illness.
Dubois, the reigning IBF heavyweight champion, was scheduled to defend his belt for a second time against Parker in Saudi Arabia. He, however, underwent a medical evaluation and missed a scheduled press conference before being ruled out of the fight without any information about the nature of his illness.
The 27-year-old beat Filip Hrgovic in June to take the interim belt before being upgraded to champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title. He defended his title for the first time in September, clinching a knockout win over British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua at Wembley.
“If he is ill, I hope he gets well soon and I’m looking forward to Saturday and a great show,” said Parker,
🥊 ANNOUNCED: Joseph Parker will now face Martin Bakole in a heavyweight clash on Saturday night after Daniel Dubois was ruled out due to illness. pic.twitter.com/lhWXc4Kprd
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) February 20, 2025
Parker, who lost his WBO world heavyweight title to Joshua in 2018, has a record of 35 wins and three defeats.
The 33-year-old will now go up against Bakole, who has won 21 of his 22 career fights, with 16 of them being by way of knockout.
The fight, which is scheduled to take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, is the co-main event to the much-anticipated light heavyweight title rematch between champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
