Why Daniel Dubois had to pull out of Joseph Parker fight as Martin Bakole steps in
Heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois was forced to pull out of his IBF title fight with Joseph Parker on Saturday night after falling ill earlier in the week.
The 27-year-old was due to make a second defence of his IBF title after beating fellow Briton Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in September.
Dubois had travelled to Saudi Arabia earlier in the week and carried out all of the necessary media duties - but he was deemed unfit to fight on the latest instalment of Riyadh Season.
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As a result, Parker, 33, will now take on Martin Bakole from Congo in the Gulf state on Saturday night.
Speaking to Sky Sports in the wake of Dubois withdrawing from the bout, Parker said: "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."
Meanwhile, promoter Eddie Hearn hailed the efforts from all involved with Riyadh Season, and their success in finding a replacement on such short notice after Dubois became the second fighter to withdraw from the card.
"If that fight was announced at the start of the campaign, you'd say; 'What a fight'. To be announced 24-48 hours before the fight, incredible," Hearn said to Fight Hub TV. Big respect to both [Parker and Bakole] for accepting the fight. Shout-out to His Excellency [Alalshikh] who made it happen. Brilliant fight."
The details behind Dubois' illness have not been confirmed at this stage.
