Bakole had garnered the label of "the boogeyman of the heavyweight division," with his power, size and ability to walk down opponents leading to trouble finding opponents. To Parker's credit, he jumped at the chance to face Bakole after Dubois pulled out of the bout, taking the IBF heavyweight title with him.

On February 22, at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the latest loaded Riyadh Season event took place. On this historic card, we saw Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) face the late replacement Martin Bakole (21-2,

After accepting a fight against Joseph Parker with just 48 hours notice, Scottish-based Congolese heavyweight Martin Bakole has finally landed in Riyadh, Saudi