Daniel Dubois was set to face Joseph Parker before his upcoming rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, but withdrew with illness.
Joseph Parker flattened Martin Bakole in his last outing after Daniel Dubois pulled out of their scheduled fight on the Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev 2 card.
Parker won his first world title in 2016 with a win over Andy Ruiz, but it was his first title defense that saw the Kiwi fighter fail to do what Dubois could do with ease.
Joseph Parker labored to a points win over Razvan Cojanu
In his first title defense, Parker, who was offered a Dillian Whyte rematch, was supposed to face Hughie Fury, who was forced to withdraw, leaving Parker without an opponent.
16-2 Razvan Cojanu stepped up to the plate to challenge for the WBO heavyweight title.
Cojanu had lost his pro debut as well as another fight against a low level 11-1 fighter.
Despite his lackluster record, Cojanu would not be put down by Parker, and would certainly not be finished.
Instead, Parker and Cojanu went the distance, and Parker was awarded a wide unanimous decision victory.
Cojanu’s luck turned after this point, as he was stopped in two rounds by Luis Ortiz next, before being outpointed by Ricky Hatton-trained Nathan Gorman.
It was in 2019 when Dubois defeated Cojanu six times as fast as Parker, decimating him in just two rounds in his 10th fight.
Cojanu was retired by Africa’s heavyweight king in 2020
After the Dubois loss, Cojanu picked up a win against a 5-13-1 opponent before facing 12-0 Efe Ajagba.
Ajagba, who drew with Martin Bakole recently, dropped Cojanu in the eighth round, and finished the show in the ninth.
The Romanian never fought again, and retired with a record of 17-7.