Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker is OFF, Martin Bakole steps in

Daniel Dubois will not be fighting Joseph Parker on the February 22 Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitri Bivol 2 card, as he has been ruled out by the British Boxing Board of Control with an undisclosed illness. 

In his place, Martin Bakole has stepped up on two days’ notice. While the fight is no longer for Dubois’ world title, it remains an extremely intriguing contest. 

This isn’t the first fight to have necessitated a replacement fighter on the card. Earlier in the week, Floyd Schofield Jr. pulled out of his fight with Shakur Stevenson, with Josh Padley stepping in to fill the gaps. 

On the decision to pull Dubois out, Parker said [via Sky Sports]: “He did a sensible thing. If you’re sick, don’t fight.

“There’s no point going out there and fighting your heart out and you’re not in the right physical shape. 

“Go out there and fight when you’re at peak, top shape, top condition, and put on your best performance. Put your best foot forward and the one that everyone will remember.”

Can Martin Bakole beat Joseph Parker?

It’s entirely possible that Bakole could flip the script and beat Parker on Saturday. Parker struggles with aggressive heavyweights who can outmuscle him – as exposed in his losses against Dillian Whyte and Joe Joyce. 

Of course, he defeated Zhilei Zhang last year – a fighter who is stylistically similar to Bakole – but the Congolese-born Scot does not have Zhang’s crippling stamina issues. If Bakole hurts Parker in the same way that Zhang did, he will not let him off the hook. 

Last time out, Bakole made his mark by annihilating American heavyweight Jared Anderson in a one-sided beatdown. He dropped the 25 year old three times before the referee called a halt to the contest in round five. 

Parker, on the other hand, is a much more mobile and defensively responsible fighter than Anderson. He will not stand and trade in the pocket against a larger man – instead, he will remain active and look to neutralise Bakole’s offence, while outworking him with intelligent movement.  

As far as replacements go, this could not have been any better for the fans. Dubois vs Parker was viewed by many as a 50/50 contest – and Bakole vs Parker is certainly within that ball park.