Who is Scotland-based Congolese heavyweight Bakole?

Undercard featuring Bakole and Parker features Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Date: Saturday, 22 February

The 31-year-old, who has previously described himself as half-Scottish, might find himself fully embraced as he takes on Joseph Parker in a fight that will be broadcast around the world given that Scotland does not exactly have a rich history of world-class heavyweights.

For almost ten years, Bakole has been based in Airdrie, where he has trained with renowned Scottish trainer Billy Nelson.

Despite their fighter not being in camp and not having been scheduled to return to the ring until May, Boxxer, Dubois’ promoter, Boxxer, responded to the search for a replacement after it was revealed that he had missed a media conference in Riyadh scheduled for Thursday.

In a final eliminator to face Dubois, Bakole had anticipated facing Nigerian contender Efe Ajaba, but he will now face Parker, a 33-year-old former WBO champion, in what is anticipated to be a non-title matchup.

Shalom described doing so as “crazy” but suggested it was an example of his boxer’s willingness to “fight anyone”.

“If you’re ever going to have a chance at beating Martin Bakole, it’s on two days ‘ notice”, he admitted. However, I still believe he is the fight’s favorite.

” I think a 50% Martin Bakole beats both heavyweights. Joseph Parker deserves praise for taking Martin Bakole, too. Everyone was aware that we would put our name in the hat and that we would work for it.

The partnership with Nelson, who previously worked with Ricky Burns, is certainly turning heads, with Bakole quietly running his business while other names in the division have been making headlines.

Bakole has an impressive professional record of 21 wins, 16 of which were knockout, and only one defeat. At 6′ 6″, Bakole has a fearsome figure and weighs 280 pounds.

Seven years ago, he lost, and his undeniable pedigree is demonstrated by how comfortably he is in the top five of the IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO heavyweight rankings.

Former world featherweight champion Barry Jones described Parker as “it makes sense why they would take the fight” in a statement on the podcast 5 Live Boxing.

“Bakole’s been avoided for a reason – because he’s big, powerful and skilful and also his engine’s improved dramatically since losing to Michael Hunter in 2018 – but not a massively sellable product.

Because Parker has been training for a different kind of fighter, Parker says, “It’s a challenging fight.”

Dubois and Bakole have also engaged in fights, and Bakole hopes a win over Parker will help him win both his and his world titles.