"I must give credit to the organizers, who made sure that this evening will be remembered by boxing fans for a long time. Even the illness of IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois didn't put them out of action. His title fight with Joseph Parker was in danger of being canceled.
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Nevertheless, the Saudis managed to find a replacement for Dubois in a short time - the promising Martin Bakole, who was previously known for sparring with many famous athletes, including Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, but after last year's victory over Jared Anderson, the Congolese was among them.
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However, his desire to make a fortune this time played a cruel trick on the African. Without proper preparation, without studying his formidable opponent, Martin could only be saved by a knockout punch in the opening round. It didn't happen. On the contrary, it was Parker who forced his opponent to capitulate in the second round. Although, in my opinion, the New Zealander has little chance to compete with our Usyk.
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Now we have to be patient and find out when Dubois won't have health problems and when he will defend his IBF title. If it happens in the next two months, then in case the Briton wins his fight for the title of absolute champion with Usyk can be expected in late fall.
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As for the main event of the evening - the bantamweight title fight between Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, I am convinced that it will not be, as they say, without trilogy. Bivol won in an even fight, but Beterbiev will definitely use the option for a rematch."