DANIEL DUBOIS HAS been ruled out of his IBF heavyweight defence against Joseph Parker in Saudi Arabia on Saturday due to illness, with the Kiwi now set to face dangerous fellow contender Martin Bakole at short notice.
Dubois was set to put his title on the line for the first time since knocking out Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September.
However, the 27-year-old Londoner was unable attend the scheduled pre-fight press conference on Thursday, with reports circulating that he had fallen ill 48 hours before his meeting with Parker.
Advertisement
Promoter Frank Warren confirmed at the press conference that a doctor was assessing Dubois to ascertain if he would be fit to fight on Saturday. However, the beltholder was later pulled from the bout, leaving Parker without an opponent at extremely short notice.
Parker [35-3, 23KOs], who lives in his native New Zealand with his wife and five children, spent over two months in Dublin with trainer Andy Lee preparing for Saturday’s opportunity. He will now face a tough challenge on paper in Scottish-based Congolese puncher Bakole [21-1, 16KOs], who will travel to Riyadh from his homeland in the coming hours.
The 31-year-old Bakole, one of the most avoided fighters in the heavyweight division, has rattled off a series of impressive victories in recent years, including successive stoppage wins over Cameroonian former challenger Carlos Takam and previously unbeaten American Jared Anderson.
His inclusion at the 11th hour means that Parker’s trainer, Limerick’s former middleweight world champion Andy Lee, will now square off against Scottish trainer Billy Nelson in consecutive weeks: as well as Bakole, Nelson trains Lewis Crocker, who has an upcoming welterweight world-title eliminator against Lee’s 147lb prodigy Paddy Donovan in Crocker’s hometown of Belfast on Saturday week, 1 March.
“Martin Bakole, he’s a beast of a fighter,” Parker told UK publication Boxing News immediately after confirmation of his re-jigged fight. “I’m looking forward to challenging myself against Martin Bakole, who has been avoided. Let’s get it on.
“Things happen in life — not just in boxing but in life. You’ve gotta adapt, you’ve gotta adjust and you’ve gotta go forward no matter what. I want to go forward and hopefully [Dubois] recovers and gets better soon.”
Bakole’s promoter, Boxxer CEO Ben Shalom, was bullish about his heavyweight’s chances of springing what would be a minor upset against Parker.
Shalom said that “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% Martin Bakole beats both heavyweights,” added Shalom. “Fair play to Joseph Parker as well for taking Martin Bakole.
Related Reads
After reviving career with Andy Lee in Dublin, Joe Parker reaches for world heavyweight summit
Lewis Crocker, Paddy Donovan, and the biggest all-Irish fight in living memory
'I'm not just some youngfella anymore. I feel like I'm maturing into a contender'
“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 will fight anyone, we will fight anyone. To do it on two days’ notice is crazy.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
12 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Joseph Parker to face dangerous replacement as Daniel Dubois withdraws through illness
LAST UPDATE | 20 Feb 2025
DANIEL DUBOIS HAS been ruled out of his IBF heavyweight defence against Joseph Parker in Saudi Arabia on Saturday due to illness, with the Kiwi now set to face dangerous fellow contender Martin Bakole at short notice.
Dubois was set to put his title on the line for the first time since knocking out Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September.
However, the 27-year-old Londoner was unable attend the scheduled pre-fight press conference on Thursday, with reports circulating that he had fallen ill 48 hours before his meeting with Parker.
Promoter Frank Warren confirmed at the press conference that a doctor was assessing Dubois to ascertain if he would be fit to fight on Saturday. However, the beltholder was later pulled from the bout, leaving Parker without an opponent at extremely short notice.
Parker [35-3, 23KOs], who lives in his native New Zealand with his wife and five children, spent over two months in Dublin with trainer Andy Lee preparing for Saturday’s opportunity. He will now face a tough challenge on paper in Scottish-based Congolese puncher Bakole [21-1, 16KOs], who will travel to Riyadh from his homeland in the coming hours.
The 31-year-old Bakole, one of the most avoided fighters in the heavyweight division, has rattled off a series of impressive victories in recent years, including successive stoppage wins over Cameroonian former challenger Carlos Takam and previously unbeaten American Jared Anderson.
His inclusion at the 11th hour means that Parker’s trainer, Limerick’s former middleweight world champion Andy Lee, will now square off against Scottish trainer Billy Nelson in consecutive weeks: as well as Bakole, Nelson trains Lewis Crocker, who has an upcoming welterweight world-title eliminator against Lee’s 147lb prodigy Paddy Donovan in Crocker’s hometown of Belfast on Saturday week, 1 March.
“Martin Bakole, he’s a beast of a fighter,” Parker told UK publication Boxing News immediately after confirmation of his re-jigged fight. “I’m looking forward to challenging myself against Martin Bakole, who has been avoided. Let’s get it on.
“Things happen in life — not just in boxing but in life. You’ve gotta adapt, you’ve gotta adjust and you’ve gotta go forward no matter what. I want to go forward and hopefully [Dubois] recovers and gets better soon.”
Bakole’s promoter, Boxxer CEO Ben Shalom, was bullish about his heavyweight’s chances of springing what would be a minor upset against Parker.
Shalom said that “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% Martin Bakole beats both heavyweights,” added Shalom. “Fair play to Joseph Parker as well for taking Martin Bakole.
“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 will fight anyone, we will fight anyone. To do it on two days’ notice is crazy.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Andy Lee Boxing daniel dubois Joseph Parker Switch