Joseph Parker vs Martin Bakole made in record time – Ben Shalom

Joseph Parker vs Martin Bakole made in record time - Ben Shalom 1 | ASL

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Promoter Ben Shalom told ESPN he has “never made a fight that quickly” after arranging for Martin Bakole to fight Joseph Parker on Thursday as a late replacement for Daniel Dubois.

Dubois was supposed to defend his IBF heavyweight belt against Parker on Saturday in the co-main event alongside the and Dmitry Bivol rematch.

But, in an extraordinary few hours in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dubois was taken ill and the fight against Parker became doubtful. With a new opponent potentially needed, Boxxer CEO and Bakole’s promoter Shalom called his , who is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and arranged the fight.

At the start of Thursday’s pre-fight news conference, Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren stated the said that his fighter was “being evaluated” by doctors. Shortly after the news conference ended, Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) had been confirmed as the replacement.

“Unbelievable, I’m trying to take it in,” Shalom told ESPN. “We heard about the Daniel Dubois illness and then we started putting [Bakole] forward and really wanted the fight.

“I was up on the press conference trying to get it done and then I had a couple of calls with His Excellency [] and it was done.

“It’s pretty incredible, I’ve never made a fight that quickly.”

Bakole was in the Congo when Shalom called and will fly more than 2,000 miles to arrive in Riyadh on Friday before fighting Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) on Saturday.

“He didn’t give 1% hesitation, that’s when I knew we had to make the fight,” Shalom said. “He’s been waiting for moments like this he doesn’t give a s— if it’s two days’ notice.

“If he can pull this off against a Joseph Parker who is coming in his best ever shape, best ever condition to win a world title, to do it on two days’ notice, he should get a huge amount of credit.

“He’s ready to win on Saturday night.”

Source: espn.com