Parker ready for ‘anyone’ as Dubois replacement is flown in to Saudi for heavyweight bout

By Canadian Press on February 21, 2025.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Joseph Parker came to Saudi Arabia to try to win the IBF heavyweight title from Daniel Dubois.

Instead, Parker has turned his attention to Congolese heavyweight Martin Bakole following Dubois facing a medical issue ahead of Saturday’s scheduled bout. Bakole was called in to be a last-minute replacement.

“The show goes on. It’s not even just in boxing, but it’s in life,” the 33-year-old Parker told Sky Sports. “Things happen, you just have to adjust and adapt to the situation.”

Dubois’ promoter, Frank Warren, hadn’t confirmed the champion’s status ahead of Friday’s weigh-in but said Thursday night that Dubois was “being evaluated by a doctor.”

Even if there’s no shot at a world title Saturday, the winner of a Parker-Bakole bout would be in line to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the Ukrainian’s WBO belt. The WBO announced that the winner would become the mandatory challenger.

“I said it before, I’ll fight anyone and everyone, doesn’t matter who it is,” said Parker, a New Zealand native. “Thanks to Martin for putting up his hand. He’s a tough fighter. I look forward to that challenge.”

Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) is a former WBO champion. He won the belt in December 2016 when he beat Andy Ruiz and lost it to Anthony Joshua 15 months later.

Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) weighed over 280 pounds in his most-recent fight when he stopped Jared Anderson in the fifth round last August in Los Angeles.

The 27-year-old Dubois had been hoping to win and then take on Usyk later this year. He made his first title defense last September with a brutal fifth-round knockout of Joshua in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.

The London native had become the titleholder three months earlier when the IBF belt was vacated by Usyk.

Saturday’s main attraction is the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Beterbiev became the undisputed light-heavyweight world champion after a contentious points decision over Bivol in October.

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AP Boxing: https://apnews.com/hub/boxing

The Associated Press

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