Daniel Dubois has been forced to withdraw from his IBF world heavyweight title fight with Joseph Parker this weekend due to illness.
Dubois, who beat Anthony Joshua in September to retain his IBF world title, arrived in Saudi Arabia this week ahead of his fight against Parker on Saturday night.
However, the 27-year-old is suffering from an illness and after being evaluated by a doctor ahead of the fight, it was confirmed he would not be able to enter the ring.
Boxing chiefs immediately lined up replacements to face Parker, who heads into the contest off the back of two impressive wins against Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.
Lawrence Okolie, David Adeleye and Mourad Aliev were among the options being considered as replacements.
However, it was later confirmed that Martin Bakole would step in for Dubois and fight Parker in Riyadh.
Bakole, 31, has won 21 of his 22 professional fights. His last victory came against Jared Anderson last August.
Speaking at the press conference, Parker said: ‘If he is ill, I hope he gets better soon. I’m looking forward to Saturday and putting on a great show.’
Boxing promoter Ben Shalom added: ‘What an opportunity this could be for Martin Bakole.
‘I think it’s the best option for Joseph Parker in terms of a 50/50 fight. Martin will do it on two-days notice, he doesn’t duck anyone, he wants everyone.
‘Now it’s over to Joseph Parker, whether he will take on the challenge that is Martin Bakole.’
Dubois’ fight with Parker was scheduled to take place before the main event in Riyadh on Saturday, which is the highly anticipated rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
The fight card has already been disrupted this week as Floyd Schofield was forced to withdraw from his WBC lightweight title fight against Shakur Stevenson due to a mystery illness.
Schofield’s father shared footage of his son in hospital and alleged that he had been poisoned, although those claims were subsequently retracted.
Josh Padley, a part-time electrician who is unbeaten in 15 professional fights, has been brought in as the replacement for Schofield.
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