Short Notice, Big Opportunity: Bakole Takes on Parker

Martin Bakole’s promoter, Ben Shalom, says he made a deal quickly with Turki Alalshikh for Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) to be the replacement opponent for Joseph Parker on Saturday night after IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois pulled out of the fight due to illness.

Initially, there was a lot of disappointment today about Dubois being pulled from the card due to illness. Many boxing fans had been looking forward to the Dubois-Parker fight, viewing it as more interesting in some ways than the main event. However, Bakole is the perfect replacement opponent and could make this an even more interesting fight than the original.

Short Notice, Big Fight

Bakole won’t fall apart mentally and suddenly quit if the going gets tough against Parker. That’s the knock on Dubois. He has a reputation for being a quitter when things are going bad for him, and he’s not been able to shake that rep.

Shalom says he immediately contacted Martin’s team to find out if their fighter would be willing to fight with Parker (35-3, 23 KOs). They told Ben that Bakole could fight. Shalmon says he texted Turki and told him they would step in as the replacement. A deal was then negotiated quickly.

“This he most ridiculous deal I’ve ever done. Usually, we like to take our time. Daniel got injured, and I saw the Tweet like everyone else from the Ring Magazine. I was talking to Martin’s team, and I said, ‘Would we take this fight?’ They’re like, ‘100%, we’re in,’” said promoter Ben Shalom to Fight Hub TV about how the fight between Martin Bakole and Joseph Parker was made.

“So, I texted His Excellency and said, ‘We’re in. We want this fight. If there’s an opportunity, this is the only fight to make. This is it.’ There was a bit of back and forth. I’m on the phone with His Excellency. We got a deal done very, very quickly. No messing around. Martin [Bakole] wants it. Gets on a flight and is ready to go.

“There’s a lot of work to do with the medicals and all sorts, but it’s happening. We’re going to get him [Bakole] here. It’s unbelievable, and he deserves a huge amount of credit because there’s no other heavyweight on planet Earth that would operate like this on two day’s notice against Joseph Parker. It’s unbelievable.”

Parker vs. Bakole is the co-feature bout on Saturday’s Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. The event will be shown live on DAZN PPV.

From Congo to Riyadh

“Martin got a call two hours ago, and that was it in the Congo. He’ll probably finish his meal, and then he’ll come. That’s what he’s about. He’s ready to go. They should put him in mind of all the hearts and minds of every boxing fan because they call for people to do this, and they all for fighters to do this and they call for fighters to take crazy risks,” said Shalom.

A plane flight from the Congo to Saudi Arabia takes only six rounds, which is not bad compared to what some fighters do when they travel over 10 hours to Riyadh. Bakole should be okay with sitting that long on a plane and fighting on Saturday as long as he leaves soon.

“So, don’t be saying he’s taking a risk too much because this is what heavyweight boxing is about, and he deserves every credit that is going to come his way. Hopefully, I believe he’ll shock the world on Saturday night,” said Shalom.

Parker will have to devise a perfect game plan to beat Bakole on Saturday because the tactics he used in his last two fights won’t likely work. He defeated Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder using angles, in-and-out attacks, and constant movement. However, he fought older heavyweights who were nowhere near their prime. Wilder looked gunshy against Parker, and the 291-lb Zhang faded after three rounds.

“He’s [Bakole] got an IBF final eliminator that he’s worked very hard, a guaranteed shot at a world title if he wins that fight. So, no, it’s not. What I believe is the winner of Parker-Dubois was going to have to fight Martin anyway. If you’re going to have a chance against Martin Bakole, you’re going to get him on two days notice. Credit to both fighters for taking it,” said Shalom.

What a fight Bakole vs. Dubois would be if that happens next. Unless Anthony Joshua chooses to take the rematch with Dubois, Bakole would be next if he decides to pursue the IBF route. Shalom points out that Parker is the WBO interim champion. So, that could be an option for Bakole. It’s unlikely the current champion, Oleksandr Usyk, would be willing to fight Bakole, but if he does, that would be a huge fight. The two have sparred, and there are reports that Bakole dropped Usyk.

“What happens when he wins? We just have to work out with the IBF and the WBO now, but I think Joseph Parker is the WBO interim champion. We’ll see what happens with the IBF, but I’m going to get it all sorted out now,” said Shalom.

It looks like Bakole will be able to take his pick in whichever direction he wants to go for a world title shot if he wins against Parker on Saturday night in their co-feature battle in Riyadh.