Martin Bakole stepped in to fight Joseph Parker on Saturday night, losing by TKO in the second round. Bakole replaced Daniel Dubois, who fell ill with a virus less than 48 hours before the bout.
Bakole entered the fight with good momentum. He had recently stopped Carlos Takam and knocked out Jared Anderson, putting him in the picture at world level. Parker also came in hot, having won his last two fights on points against Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder.
The early stages of the fight looked promising for Bakole. He seemed dangerous, but things quickly turned in the second round. Parker landed a big shot on top of Bakole's head, sending him wobbling backwards towards the canvas. When Bakole got up, he looked unsteady. His trainer, Billy Nelson, made the call to pull him out of the fight.
After the bout, Bakole revealed some shocking details about his preparation. In an interview with Seconds Out, he said:
"I was sleeping in the changing room. I fell asleep. My coach woke me up and said, 'hey, come on, we know this is a big sacrifice.'"
Bakole explained he had arrived at 2 AM on fight day and had to do media interviews without much sleep. Despite these challenges, he took the fight for financial reasons:
"I have a family, I have to look after my kids. I'm doing this for a living. I had an opportunity to get something for my family so I jumped at it."
Promoter Eddie Hearn criticized Bakole's team for agreeing to the short-notice fight without proper preparation. However, Bakole's scheduled fight against Efe Ajagba in May should still go ahead, though it's no longer an IBF Final Eliminator.
As for Parker, he's now beaten three of the division's hardest hitters. His crushing win over Bakole puts him in a strong position for a world title shot.
