Martin Bakole will step in to fight Joseph Parker on three days’ notice tonight in Saudi Arabia.
Daniel Dubois was scheduled to defend his IBF heavyweight title against the New Zealander on the stacked card in Riyadh, headlined by the undisputed light-heavyweight title rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Illness forced the Londoner to withdraw from the contest, however, sparking a search for a late stand-in. Bakole didn’t hesitate and was straight on a plane to Saudi. The frantic situation over the last few days meant the Congolese fighter was still in the air when Friday’s official weigh-ins took place.
The 31-year-old is not a household name like Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury but is regarded by many as the most avoided man in the sport.
The combination of being a dangerous threat to any heavyweight out there and not having the box office profile that helps generate the biggest paydays means he is not a man people have been queuing up to fight. In recent years, Bakole has been regarded as a huge risk, low reward fight to take.
Training out of Glasgow under the guidance of respected coach Billy Nelson, he has been chasing the biggest fights in the division for a number of years.
The heavy-handed hitter has some notable wins on his record, becoming the first man to beat former amateur standout Tony Yoka, battering the 2016 Olympic gold medal winner to put the rest of the division on notice three years ago.
Knocking out grizzled and respected veteran Carlos Takam further enhanced his reputation before his biggest statement yet against Jared Anderson. Anderson, 25, was 17-0 when they met last August, regarded as the new hope of American boxing. Bakole ran all over him, scoring a devastating fifth round stoppage.
Bakole’s chance on the biggest stage is overdue. He was thought to be among the names under consideration to fight Anthony Joshua in his next fight later this year but he has the chance to send a message to the rest of the division tonight.
Bakole’s heavy-handed style has drawn comparisons with the legendary George Foreman with former British heavyweight champion David Price recognising the similarities.
‘Bakole is a great fighter and highly-avoided,’ former British heavyweight champion David Price told Metro via casino.org.
‘Bakole is highly skilled, has a great engine and a big strong fighter. You saw his fight against Jared Anderson; Bakole reminded me a lot of someone like George Foreman.
‘Loose and heavy handed; that’s what Bakole shows, just like Foreman used to do to his opponents.
‘He punches effortlessly, but with such heavy hands. I can see why he’s fighter people want to avoid.’