Despite quickly flattening dangerous contender Martin Bakole, Joseph Parker might still miss out on a world title fight next.
Bakole stepped in at just two days’ notice to face Parker in a non-title heavyweight bout and arrived in Saudi Arabia from the Democratic Republic of Congo after missing Friday’s weigh-in.
Parker (36-3, 23 KOs) had been scheduled to challenge Daniel Dubois for the IBF world title, but instead blasted away Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) in two rounds. Bakole might have been a late replacement and was too heavy, but it was still an impressive performance from Parker.
It is hard to predict with any real certainty what the next six or seven months looks like, but Dubois’s withdrawal has rearranged any plans promoters, managers and the Saudi paymasters had.
Rather than facing Parker again, after pulling out of a world title defence versus the New Zealander with a viral infection in fight week, IBF champion Dubois is likely to instead face Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed world title fight.
For Parker, his best option now appears to be a rematch with former champion Anthony Joshua — but that depends upon Parker’s friend Tyson Fury staying retired, rather than returning to fight Joshua this summer.
“I want to fight for the world title and be world champion again,” Parker said afterwards. “I will fight anyone and everyone.”
When Joshua returns in the summer he, along with the rest of boxing, hopes it will be against his long-time rival Fury, who announced his retirement following defeat to Usyk. The former WBC world heavyweight champion will receive an offer this week to face Joshua, probably at Wembley Stadium, and Fury will not have long to decide if he really is done with the sport.
Promoters have tried to match Fury and Joshua for the last five years, and this will be the final attempt to make the fight a reality.
But if Fury stays retired, Joshua’s next fight may well be against someone who trains at the same gym as Fury: Parker.
Parker, from Auckland in New Zealand, has steadily rebuilt his career following a Round 11 KO loss to Joe Joyce in September 2022. The 33-year-old has registered six consecutive wins since, including the wide points win over Deontay Wilder and a majority points win over Zhilei Zhang in March last year. While the likes of Joshua, Fury and Wilder have seen their performances drop in standards, Parker is in the best form of his life and better than in his first reign as champion, as he showed in his ruthless dispatch of Bakole.
Fighting Joshua, even if no world title was on the line, will have huge appeal for Parker. When he faced Joshua under the roof at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, he faced AJ at his best. He lost his WBO belt to Joshua that night, but became the first person to take Joshua to points as a professional.
Just as Parker’s speed and movement denied Joshua’s openings in 2018, so he will once again look to deny Joshua the chance to unload his power punches.
Parker has denied Joshua a KO before, and he will be confident of doing it again. Along with Dubois, another fighter who could share a ring with Usyk this year who was in action in Riyadh on Saturday is Agit Kabayel, who recovered from a Round 5 knockdown to stop Zhilei Zhang with a body shot in Round 6 for the fringe WBC interim heavyweight title.
While Kayabel does not look a serious threat to Usyk as he lacks concussive power, he could still be the man to face the world No. 1 in his final fight late 2025. Kabayel (26-0,18 KOs), 32, from Germany, found himself under pressure early on from the 41-year-old Chinese fighter, who is based in New Jersey, but his work rate began to unsettle Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KOs).
Zhang dropped the likes of Wilder, Parker and Joyce so there was no disgrace in Kabayel touching down from a short left hook. He then recovered quickly and mustered a quick response to stop a tiring Zhang with a body combination.
Source: espn.com