Bakole, who calls himself the 'most avoided heavyweight on the planet', finally gets his chance at a big-name fight. He's known for his heavy hands and solid chin, but he's had trouble landing marquee matchups. Many fighters see him as high risk with low reward.
The Congolese-born boxer has some impressive wins under his belt. He knocked out Carlos Takam and stopped Jared Anderson, a hot prospect from the US. Bakole's been calling out top fighters like Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, and Anthony Joshua for a while now.
It's worth noting that Bakole was already set to fight Efe Agagba later this year. He's jumped at this opportunity with Parker, though. Speaking of Parker, he deserves credit for taking on another tough opponent on such short notice.
Bakole seems confident about his chances. He recently posted on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter):
"On points, maybe knock him out"
That's his prediction for how the fight with Parker will go down.
Dubois falling sick has opened up an interesting opportunity in the heavyweight division. The winner of this Saturday's bout might just earn themselves first crack at the IBF champion once he's back to full health.
This last-minute switch-up has turned what was already an exciting matchup into a real wildcard of a fight. Boxing fans are in for a treat this weekend.