It was reported earlier today that current IBF Heavyweight champion, Daniel Dubois, was forced out of his scheduled title defense against WBO interim Heavyweight champion, Joseph Parker, with an undisclosed illness, the second title fight scrapped in two days.
Don’t fret, because officials didn’t take too long to find a replacement.
Congolese pugilist Martin Bakole has been pegged as a late fill-in. With a professional record of 21-1, Bakole won the WBO International and vacant WBC-NABF Heavyweight titles in Aug. 2024 by knocking out Jared Anderson in the fifth round in Los Angeles, California.
Bakole, who is also the WBC international Heavyweight champion, has 16 knockouts on his resume, seven of them coming in the very first round. The winner of this Saturday’s (Feb. 22) showdown on DAZN will likely get the chance to face Dubois later this year.
Spearheading the colossal event in Riyadh is a much-anticipated rematch between undisputed Light Heavyweight king of boxing, Artur Beterbiev, taking on Dmitry Bivol live from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, only on DAZN.
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