Daniel Dubois was forced to withdraw from his world title defense against Joseph Parker, with feared heavyweight Martin Bakole now stepping in as a late replacement.
Daniel Dubois was set to make his first world title defense against Joseph Parker on the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard, but pulled out of the fight on two days notice due to illness.
Parker has shown extreme courage in accepting Martin Bakole as a late replacement.
Bakole stopped Jared Anderson in his last fight, and Parker will be looking to defend his WBC interim title against Bakole on Saturday.
Despite multiple options for Dubois’ replacement, Parker accepted seemingly the most dangerous. One fighter who was not on this list of potential replacements was Anthony Joshua.
Eddie Hearn on the injury that stopped Anthony Joshua from facing Joseph Parker on Saturday
Speaking to Seconds Out, Eddie Hearn insisted that Joshua is not scared of Bakole, stating: “You think he’s afraid of Martin Bakole? The guy got beat by Michael Hunter.
Listen, he could win on Saturday, but he could also get smashed. […] We’ll see if he’s the second coming of George Foreman.”
Hearn recently revealed Bakole’s weakness is poor fitness, ahead of Parker’s clash with the Congolese boxer.
Hearn did not suggest Joshua was ever considered as a viable replacement for Dubois, but did reveal that even if he was, the fight could not have been made due to an injury Joshua sustained:
“He’s still getting work on his elbow. […] He’s not in training. He’s not fit to start camp.”
Hearn suggest Joshua still has his eyes set on facing Dubois, following his brutal stoppage loss to the young Brit in Wembley Arena.
The Daniel Dubois replacements considered to face Joseph Parker
In a post made The Ring Magazine on X, it was revealed that there were three other possibilities being strongly considered to face Parker before Bakole was chosen.
Lawrence Okolie, the former cruiserweight world champion who made his heavyweight debut in December last year, was one option that was being considered.
The 21-1 Brit is currently scheduled to face Richard Riakporhe in a heavyweight double-header with Joe Joyce vs Dillian Whyte in April. Okolie vs Riakporhe marks a rematch of their movie theatre brawl in 2023.
David Adeleye was also a potential option and holds a 13-1 world record after being stopped by Fabio Wardley in his fight before last.
Adeleye is also set to fight on the April card, against Jeamie TKV.
The final option is Mourad Aliev, a 13-0 heavyweight with ten knockouts to his name.
Despite these options making somewhat entertaining fights, it is clear that Parker vs Bakole is the biggest of them all, and is an admirable replacement for Dubois on less than 48 hours notice.
Parker, who snubbed Deontay Wilder in a top five fights list, and Bakole will fight in the co-main event of one of the biggest cards in boxing history.
On the undercard, Zhilei Zhang, who almost died against Jerry Forrest, faces Agit Kabayel, Vergil Ortiz Jr. locks horns with Israil Madrimov, and Callum Smith takes on Joshua Buatsi.
Smith has stated he believes George Groves is a better opponent than Buatsi will be.
Though Parker is now not fighting for a world title, Hamzah Sheeraz is. Sheeraz revealed he won’t pray for a win against Adames though, as he does not want an ‘unfair advantage’.
World champions and legends predicted Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2, with many more favoring the challenger than one might think.