Martin Bakole has touched down in Saudi Arabia as a late replacement to face Joseph Parker.
New Zealand’s Parker was all set to challenge Daniel Dubois for his IBF World Heavyweight Title this weekend in Riyadh, however a viral infection saw the champion pulled out.
Lawrence Okolie and David Adeleye were considered as replacements to keep Parker on the bill, however the promotion ultimately landed on Bakole, who has long said he will fight anyone at a moment’s notice. This was the true test of that, and he is said to have accepted immediately when the fight against his former sparring partner was offered to him.
Parker came in at a career heaviest of 267 pounds, though looked in fantastic shape. Bakole was not in the country for the official weigh-in, though has now revealed how big he really is without a proper camp behind him.
After his arrival, the big-punching Congolese heavyweight ‘unofficially’ weight in at 315 pounds – 16 more than his career record of 299 against Carlos Takam in 2023. Asked by IFL TV about what kind of fight he expects to bring with that bulk, Bakole didn’t hesitate.
“Explosive. He has had a good camp, he was preparing for Daniel Dubois. But if he is still open [like he was] the way when I was sparring him, I think I’ll stop him.”
Bakole’s media rounds will do little to help him just hours before the fight against a man who has been dialled in for weeks now. However, he believes in his dangerman tag and must be commended for flying in to save the co-main event of what remains an impressive night of fights.
