Daniel Dubois has retired from the fight against Joseph Parker scheduled for this Saturday in Riyadh due to illness. The British boxer, 27, with a 22-2 record (21 of those victories by KO) is the current IBF heavyweight title holder, and was to defend the title against New Zealand's Parker, who held the WBO heavyweight bell between 2015 and 2017, and has won 35 fights and only 3 defeats.
No information has been given so far about Dubois illness. He was examined by a doctor before ever giving a press conference on Thursday, as scheduled. Parker said that he made the right choice: "He did a sensible thing. If you're sick don't fight", said to Sky Sports, thinking on when he fought, and lost, to Joe Joyce while sick. "There's no point going out there and fighting you're heart out and you're not in the right physical shape. Go out there and fight when you're at peak, top shape, top condition, and put on your best performance. Put your best foot forward and the one that everyone will remember."
Saturday's event in Riyadh remains, with Parker being assigned a substitute: Martin Bakole, 33, a Congolese boxer living in Scotland, with a 22-1 record, including 16 KOs. The winner of the fight will then take on unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, who defeated Tyson Fury on December 2024.
The main event for Saturday night will be the second bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight.