Daniel Dubois has been officially ruled out of his title clash with Joseph Parker.
Dubois was set to defend his IBF heavyweight title for the first time against Parker this weekend at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout was slated to be part of the undercard for the highly anticipated undisputed light heavyweight rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
However, rumors swirled on Thursday that "Dynamite" was under the weather and undergoing medical evaluation. As uncertainty loomed over his participation, three potential replacements — Lawrence Okolie, David Adeleye, and Mourad Aliev — reportedly emerged as contenders to step in on short notice.
After much speculation, The Ring, owned by Turki Alalshikh, confirmed after the event's pre-fight press conference that Dubois had been officially ruled out of his clash with Parker. In a surprising twist, heavyweight contender Martin Bakole was announced as his short-notice replacement.
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Bakole is on a 10-fight winning streak, last showcasing his power in August with a dominant fifth-round knockout over Jared Anderson. The 31-year-old Congolese boxer holds a professional record of 21-1, with 16 of his victories coming by knockout.
Meanwhile, Parker enters the bout riding a five-fight winning streak, most recently edging out Zhilei Zhang via majority decision in March 2024. The 33-year-old New Zealander last tasted defeat in September 2022 against Joe Joyce. With a professional record of 35-3, Parker has secured 23 of his victories by knockout.