Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Martin Bakole and Joseph Parker weigh in ahead of their WBO World Heavyweight Title Fight. Photo: Mark Robinson/Photosport
Joseph Parker v Martin Bakole
- WBO Interim Heavyweight title
- Expected start: 10am Sunday 23 February
- Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
Sunday morning was set to be one of the biggest sporting events of New Zealand's sporting year, now we've got a hastily arranged make-up fight for Joseph Parker instead.
The big question being asked is whether will it be worth following.
The answer is yes, because every time Parker gets in the ring is worth the effort, but it can't shake that now very hollow feeling around the whole thing.
Just to recap: Parker and Briton Daniel Dubois were supposed to fight for the IBF heavyweight world title, which is one of the four main belts in the division right now.
Whoever won would be able to have a serious amount of control over the next couple of years at least - Dubois likely setting a path the face Oleksandr Usyk and Parker's future suddenly very lucrative either way.
So what happened?
Daniel Dubois (l) and Joseph Parker (r) during the Launch Press Conference of their IBF World Heavyweight Title fight at Riyadh Season Boxing event. Photo: Mark Robinson/Getty Images
Unfortunately, this is boxing, not the office, so he can't just make up for it when he gets a doctor's note. It's unclear what the 27-year-old is suffering from but it's bad enough for him to have thrown the card for Sunday's big event into disarray.
The promotors quickly arranged a replacement fighter for Parker, with The Ring magazine speculating that Lawrence Okolie, David Adeleye and Mourad Aliev were likely to answer the call.
However, in a bit of a surprise, it was announced the Congolese fighter Martin Bakole would step into the ring against Parker on barely 48 hours' notice.
Is this normal?
Not really, at least not in a co-main event of such a high-profile card.
Late changes to fight cards happen but it's usually the lesser fights that get affected. In extreme cases, it can end in a catchweight fight, as in two fighters from different weight classes.
It's more a common occurrence in the UFC, recently at UFC 311 the main event was changed 24 hours beforehand with Islam Makhachev's lightweight title bout ending up being against Renato Moicano instead of Arman Tsarukyan.
Who is Martin Bokale?
Martin Bakole (L) lands a left to the head of Jared Anderson during the fifth round of their NABF WBO International Heavyweight title fight. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Born in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), Bakole is ranked as the number two contender by the WBO and the WBA, three by the IBF and four by the WBC. He comes in with a pretty decent record of 24-1-2 with 17 KO's. The 31-year-old's only professional loss came at the hands of American Michael Hunter, but that was almost seven years ago.
Even though he and Parker have both fought and beat Carlos Takam, of most interest to Parker's camp will be Bakole's last fight in which he stopped Jared Anderson in the fifth round of their fight in Los Angeles.
How will Parker be feeling about all this?
Not particularly great, especially if there has been some adjustment to the rumoured $7m he is due to receive for the fight.
It's not the first time recently his plans have been altered: he was scheduled to have a rematch with Zhilei Zhang after beating the Chinese heavyweight last year, however, that was simply forgotten somewhere along the line, and Parker was missing off the Fury v Usyk mega-card at the end of last year.
However, he has the massive advantage of training specifically for a fight on this date, so his conditioning will be excellent. Bakole has presumably kept himself in shape too, however, had to make the not-insignificant journey from Congo to Riyadh just a day beforehand.
What does it mean for Parker?
Joseph Parker following his unanimous points win over Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia. Photo: Photosport
It's a setback, no matter what the result.
There's no guarantee that the Dubois fight will be rescheduled, as we saw with the Zhang situation things are very fluid in this new, Saudi-financed world of heavyweight boxing.
Plus he is expected to win comfortably against a guy who's had next to prep, but the smartest thing to do would be to simply stay out of trouble and score his points when Bakole presumably tires.
It won't be the most popular course of action, as fans will be looking for knockouts, but the last thing Parker needs is to be drawn into a brawl.
But Parker's going to win… right?
You'd certainly think so, considering he had a very decent chance against the man he was supposed to be facing, let alone a last-minute ring-in. The turn of events has also meant Parker has gone from being a challenger to the holder in the fight, with his WBO Interim Title on the line.
Here's a handy explainer if that's all a bit confusing.
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