Why has Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker been cancelled? Dynamite pulls out of fight as Martin Bakole replaces him

Daniel Dubois will no longer defend his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker this evening after he was forced to withdraw.

The British heavyweight was set to take on Parker in Saudi Arabia on the stacked Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol undercard.

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However, that bout has now been cancelled after Dubois pulled out just two days before it was scheduled to take place.

'Dynamite' was aiming to set up a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk by winning, after already publicly calling him out.

But it's not going to be happening now and instead, Parker is going to be taking on Martin Bakole, where he will be at his all-time heaviest, while Bakole didn't make the weigh-in because he's flying in from Great Britain.

Why is Dubois vs Parker cancelled?

Dubois fell ill and was assessed by doctors who considered whether his participation would be permitted.

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And following that, he withdrew from the fight.

According to Ring Magazine, Dubois was deemed medically unfit to compete by professionals.

Speaking to  about the dramatic situation and Dubois' current condition, his promoter Frank Warren said: "It was a big fight, he's trained very hard.

"If you don’t fight you don’t get paid, imagine the cost of a training camp, booking places, setting the camp up, bringing the sparring partners in, nutritionists, chefs, trainers, and you don’t get paid.

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"It’s a massive loss, you can’t insure it, if you do it costs a fortune to insure.

"Very, very disappointed. It was an unbelievable purse he was getting for the fight but we are where we are, if you’re not well, you can’t fight.

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"I’m always saying to the fighters I don’t want to hear after the event if anything goes wrong that you had a bad hand, or a cold, or your budgie died, none of that matters, you live to fight another day.

"We knew he weren’t well. When he went to the doctor originally he was just going to have the doctor examine him, give him some medication but the medication he gave him obviously had to be checked that it didn’t have any ingredients on the WADA list.

"To do that they got in touch with the Boxing Board of Control, then a Boxing Board of Control doctor came along and he got a little bit worse by then.

"One of the medicines he was given causes a lot of drowsiness, so that was the end of that."

Asked specifically what is wrong with Dubois, Warren replied: "He’s got a viral infection.

"Quite a few people have been getting it out here. I remember the last time when we went back from here [in December] a lot of people were ill over Christmas. You see some of these conspiracy theorists, you don’t know where their brains are sometimes if they’ve even got any."

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Who is Parking facing instead?

It would have been tough news to hear for Dubois but also for Parker, who has lost out on his chance to become a world champion.

Instead, he will be facing fast-rising Congolese star Bakole who has taken Dubois' place in the chief support slot.

The heavy-handed African superstar has a professional record of 21-1, winning every single fight he has had since 2018.

His most recent wins have come against Tony Yoka, Carlos Takam and Jared Anderson, who stopped in the fifth round.

Parker vs Bakole: Date and start time

The 12-round heavyweight bout will take place on Saturday, February 22 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Official start times are now confirmed, with the undercard set to get going at 3:30pm UK time.

Then Parker vs Bakole is set to start at 9:40pm, but that time is subject to change.

talkSPORT has secured the commentary rights to this massive event.

Adam Catterall will present live coverage from Riyadh on talkSPORT at 8pm with commentary coming from Gareth A Davies, Spencer Oliver and John Rawling.

To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream. Listen via the talkSPORT app here, or on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

You can also follow the  for all the latest news, views and exclusive content.

We'll also be holding a live watch-along for all the action over on the .

The entire card will also be streamed on DAZN Pay-Per-View and UK fans can pay £19.99 to watch the action .

Parker vs Bakole: Undercard

Subject to change

All times UK

• MAIN EVENT: Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol - for IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO light-heavyweight titles
• Joseph Parker vs Martin Bakole - for interim WBO heavyweight title
• Shakur Stevenson vs Josh Padley - for WBC lightweight title
• Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz - for WBC middleweight title
• Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov - for interim WBC super-welterweight title
• Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel - for interim WBC heavyweight title
• Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith - for interim WBO light-heavyweight title

As well as having Artur Beterbiev take on Dmitry Bivol for the second time, this undercard is stacked.

Parker vs Bakole will be second on the bill, while there are two other world title fights taking place before it.

Shakur Stevenson was set to defend his WBC lightweight title against Floyd Schofield, but the latter has pulled out and was pictured in a hospital bed amid claims of poisoning.

As a result, Stevenson is set to face part-time electrician Josh Padley.

The title is still set to be on the line as well, so Padley has a chance to become an overnight sensation.

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We will also see Brit Hamzah Sheeraz compete for his first world title against Carlos Adames.

Elsewhere, Zhilei Zhang, Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith are all in action.