Joseph Parker has three targets in sight for his next fight: Oleksandr Usyk, Daniel Dubois or Anthony Joshua.
One of those bouts would’ve already happened had IBF heavyweight champion Dubois not been forced from his fight with Parker on just over two days’ notice last week. The pair were scheduled to clash on the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard, but Martin Bakole replaced Dubois at the last minute after Dubois was ruled unfit to proceed with the bout.
“We were heading to the press conference, and all I heard was, ‘No, this is not true, this is not true.’ I said, ‘What’s wrong, Andy [Lee — Parker’s head coach]?’ And he showed me all these articles [from] The Ring about Dubois being ill and [the] possibility of [him] pulling out of the fight,” Parker explained to Uncrowned’s The Ariel Helwani Show. “That was when we first heard about it. [We] got to the press conference, and then we heard more that [the fight] probably won’t happen.”
As soon as news of Dubois’ likely withdrawal was learned, Spencer Brown, Parker’s manager, went to work to seek a suitable replacement. Numerous fighters threw their names into the hat, but Parker informed Brown that he wanted the toughest fight that could be made on short notice.
“All these names started coming on board of who we can have as a replacement,” Parker said. “There was [Lawrence] Okolie, there was Bakole, there was Joe Joyce, and there were a few other names. One thing I said to Spencer was, ‘Get me Bakole,’ because that’s the fight that gets me amped up and gets me excited about still being involved in this big event that happened on the 22nd of February.”
Bakole was coming off an upset knockout win over American heavyweight Jared Anderson and consequently was viewed as a fighter many would like to avoid. Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel had been ordered to face Bakole in late 2024 and decided against it, choosing to box each other on the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 card instead.
“I feel the same way [that Bakole’s team thought Parker wouldn’t accept Bakole as a replacement],” Parker told Uncrowned. “With Martin, he’s the boogeyman. I know he didn’t get the best notice, but he did take the fight, and he did actually believe that he was going to come in there and knock me out. We did call their bluff and accepted the fight. When I heard that Martin Bakole was locked in for me, I was like, “Yes!” I have a fight, and I’m fighting one of the best fighters out there.”
Parker floored Bakole with a right-hand temple shot in the second round of their fight, and Bakole was pulled out by his trainer Billy Nelson after the knockdown.
“I feel that Martin Bakole came with the utmost belief that he was going to beat me. Even though he [didn’t have a] full camp, he believed [that he was going to win]. We had sparring sessions together, so [I know] he fully believed he was going to knock me out. Just cause that punch landed on the top of his head — it could’ve went a different way. Imagine we’re sitting here talking like he won the fight, or imagine we’re sitting here talking like it was a longer fight than what actually went down, it would be a different conversation altogether. He did believe that he was going to knock me out, he’s a great fighter Martin Bakole, he’s got great timing, and some of the punches he landed did hurt, and it still hurts now.”
Even a week after Dubois’ pullout, we are no closer to learning the reason behind the move and what specifically the medical issue was. Just days after Dubois withdrew, unified heavyweight champion Usyk stated that he would like to box Dubois next in a four-belt unification matchup, and focus seems to have shifted toward that fight rather than scheduling Dubois-Parker, much to the annoyance of Parker.
“It feels weird because [Dubois] was at the public workout and then, just like that, he got real ill and there was no real statement,” Parker said. “There’s no real proof or doctors, there’s nothing. Even after the fight, nothing has come out. It feels a bit weird. It feels a bit strange that during that time that Usyk started calling out Dubois saying he wants him next — I’m not saying he wasn’t ill or he was ill, I’m just saying I’m not sure what’s happening.”
If Dubois and Usyk were to face each other next, it would tie up all the belts and leave WBO interim champion Parker waiting even longer for a world championship opportunity. Parker previously held the WBO title from 2016 until he lost it in 2018 to Joshua. The New Zealander has now won 12 out of his last 13 fights, which includes a six-fight, two-year unbeaten streak.
“It does feel like that way [that we’re being screwed],” Parker acknowledged. “It feels like we’re so close to fighting for a world title, [and] then all of a sudden he got sick, and now they’re lining up this big fight with Usyk and Dubois. I’m not sure what we need to do in order to lock in a championship of the world fight. I think we’ve done everything asked of [us], and hopefully we can lock in a championship of the world fight.
“I’d love the opportunity just to test myself against Usyk. Usyk is a great fighter, I’d love to see what I’m capable of doing against someone like that.”
Parker wants to challenge either Usyk or Dubois, with his preference being a fight against the three-belt titleholder from Ukraine, but neither fight seems likely to occur next, leaving the former champion potentially exploring a rematch with Joshua. When the pair met in a 2018 unification bout, Joshua won a wide decision over Parker in Cardiff, Wales.
“As we focus on myself and my career, [Usyk, Joshua, and Dubois] would be the next in line,” Parker told Uncrowned.
“I think [Joshua would accept the fight]. As a fighter, we back ourselves 100%. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace against anyone. I think he would accept the fight with me, but it’ll be a very different fight to the fight that we had in 2018. Obviously, we’re both different fighters now: both more mature, older and wiser. I feel like the fighter that I was before — sometimes I look back and go, ‘Who is that guy?'”
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