Promoter Eddie Hearn questions whether Martin Bakole will be in good enough shape to defeat Joseph Parker on two days’ notice this Saturday night in Riyadh.
Parker’s Fragility
If Bakole’s weight hovers in the 300-lb range, that’ll be more than enough for him to make easy work of Parker (35-3, 23 KOs). Parker has a fragile chin and has broken it in the past from the high-pressure Joe Joyce put on him. If Martin connects with anything early, this could be over, and it wouldn’t matter if Bakole is obese. His power will still be too much for Parker.
Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs) was inked today as the replacement for IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, who pulled out with an illness. Martin, 31, hasn’t been in camp since his fifth-round knockout win against Jared Anderson on August 3rd, and he may have put on weight in the five months since.
Bakole weighed 284 lbs for that fight and looked slow. However, his punches were powerful, hurting the inexperienced Anderson from the get-go in round one. Bakole dropped Anderson three times in the contest before getting a knockout in the fifth.
Hearn’s Doubts
“I wasn’t expecting Parker to fight Bakole. It might be a better fight than Dubois-Parker,” said Eddie Hearn to the Stomping Ground about Martin Bakole stepping in as the replacement to fight Joseph Parker this Saturday in Riyadh. “It’s such a great fight, so risky.
“One of Bakole’s weakest points is his fitness. So, you’d have to think sitting in the Congo, he’s not 110%, but he believes he can win. Good luck to him. Good luck to Joe. the show continues,” said Hearn.
It might not matter if Bakole isn’t in the best shape. He’s so powerful that he’ll do damage to Parker when he does land. Parker was dropped twice by Zhilei Zhang in his last fight and was fortunate to be given the win. Zhang was throwing almost nothing, but the shots he hit Parker with did damage. Bakole will be a lot busier, and his shots are equally as hard as Zhang’s.
“Joseph Parker has had weeks [months] to prepare for this night. Martin Bakole hasn’t. So that balances it out,” said Johnny Nelson to Ring Magazine. “He’s heavy-handed. Against Jared Anderson, he absolutely pulverized him [on August 3rd last year in Los Angeles].
“I don’t think Frank wants this fight. Eddie doesn’t want this fight. Name me one fighter that can come in on three days’ notice and think, ‘Oh s***.’ It can only be Martin Bakole. In the history of the game, I’ve only known one fighter, and everybody is thinking, ‘Really?'”
