Daniel Dubois to miss title defence against Joseph Parker due to illness, Martin Bakole brought in as replacement fight
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2024/09/16/image-4414b260-c386-47c6-af98-0a2675a5a091-68-310-310.jpeg)
Updated 21/02/2025 at 10:04 GMT
IBF world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois will miss his title defence against Joseph Parker, with a replacement confirmed. The Briton's bout was expected to offer chief support for the highly-anticipated rematch of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, 'The Last Crescendo'. Live coverage of the stacked card will be shown on TNT Sports Box Office from 16:00 UK time.
'This is the drama boxing brings' - Experts react to reports Dubois could miss Parker bout
Video credit: TNT Sports
Daniel Dubois has pulled out of his IBF world heavyweight title defence against Joseph Parker, with a replacement for Saturday's in-doubt bout now confirmed to be Martin Bakole.
The Briton was due to set foot in the ring for the first time since defeating Anthony Joshua via stoppage in September.
Speculation broke on Thursday that Dubois was unwell and being evaluated by medical professionals with Ring Magazine, which is owned by Turki Alalshikh, first reporting the news.
The magazine later confirmed that Dubois had to withdraw and Martin Bakole had been brought in as a replacement.
Head of Queensberry Promotions, Frank Warren, confirmed that Dubois was undergoing medical examinations at Thursday's press conference.
"Unfortunately, at this moment in time, Daniel is being evaluated by a doctor and when we have more news, we will share it with you and update you," said Warren.
And while Dubois' participation was still in doubt at that point, Joseph Parker said he was ready to take on any replacement.
"If he is ill, I hope he gets better soon and I'm looking forward to Saturday and putting on a great show. I'm ready to go," said Parker.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/02/20/4100301-83143673-2560-1440.jpg)
'I hope he gets better soon' - Parker's message to Dubois as promoter gives update
Video credit: TNT Sports
And Parker's manager, Spencer Brown, confirmed that his man would "fight anybody".
"There have been a lot of discussions," said Brown. "We are just trying to find out whether it's good or bad news. But whatever it's going to be, Joe's there. There will be a fight.
"Whoever we're going to fight on Saturday, Joe's up for it; he doesn't care. He's one of those fighters. He'll fight anybody."
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2024/10/13/4051046-82158568-2560-1440.jpg)
Highlights: Beterbiev defeats Bivol in majority decision to become undisputed champion
Video credit: TNT Sports
Dubois holds an impressive record of 22 victories with two defeats, one of the latter coming against Joe Joyce in 2020 and the other to Oleksandr Usyk in 2023.
The 27-year-old took on the IBF belt vacated by Usyk, who committed to a second Tyson Fury fight last year.
- Eddie Hearn outlines Anthony Joshua plans as Tyson Fury bids farewell - ‘AJ wants to become world champion again’
- Exclusive: Oleksandr Usyk open to 'show fight' with UFC star Alex Pereira, doubts Tyson Fury retirement
The headline event, dubbed 'The Last Crescendo', sees Beterbiev and Bivol go head-to-head once again, with undisputed light-heavyweight world champion Beterbiev hoping for a repeat result.
Bivol was the only fighter to avoid a knockout at the hands of the 40-year-old, but lost the first bout by majority decision.
Coverage of the full card courtesy of TNT Sports Box Office will be shown from 16:00 UK time.
HOW TO WATCH BETERBIEV V BIVOL 2
Beterbiev v Bivol 2 is on TNT Sports Box Office and costs £19.99 in the UK and can be watched on discovery+, EE TV, Prime Video and Virgin Media TV. You do not need to be a TNT Sports subscriber to buy this event.
discovery+ - TNT Sports Box Office events are available to purchase and watch in the discovery+ app – on smart TVs, computer or mobile device, viewers wanting to watch the fight should visit this page and follow instructions to subscribe and then purchase the event.
EE TV - Customers can purchase the event via their STB on channel 494.
Prime Video - Customers do not need to have a Prime or discovery+ subscription to access this event. You can find live and upcoming PPV events in the "Live and upcoming events" row on the Prime Video homepage and sports page, or by searching for a specific event title.
Virgin Media TV - Customers with a TiVo and/or V6 set-top-box should visit the On-Demand section and choose Live Events; customers with a Virgin TV 360 and/or Stream set-top-box should go to the Pay Per View events rail.
The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
Related Topics
Thoughts?
Advertisement
Advertisement