Daniel Dubois should be gearing up for the second defence of his heavyweight world title but instead he’s back in the UK recovering from a virus.
Dubois was due to take on Joseph Parker in Riyadh tonight but pulled out two days ago after falling ill. A last-minute scramble to find a replacement led to Martin Bakole flying from the Congo to take on Parker at two days’ notice.
Tonight’s super-card is headlined by Dmitry Bivol’s revenge mission against Artur Beterbiev as the Russians renew their rivalry four months on from their thrilling first encounter. There is also plenty of British interest with Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith clashing for the right to face the winner of the main event, while Hamzah Sheeraz challenges Carlos Adames for his middleweight crown.
The fights will get underway at around 4.45pm in the UK with Bakole and Parker due in the ring at 9.40pm and the main event at around 11pm. You can follow all the action right here with us…
Speaking to BetUK, Nelson said: “This is Hamzah Sheeraz’s chance to become a world champion and he has a great chance of winning. I think this young man is a talent with outstanding potential. He’s at middleweight at the moment but that’s not where he’s going to stay. He’ll move around the weights and I think he has a chance to become a three-weight world champion.
“Hamzah reminds me of Thomas Hearns, tall and gangly, but he can bang. He looks like a baby giraffe at times, but he has plenty of talent which reminds me of Hearns. I like everything about his fighting style. How often do you see a young man fighting for a world title and the emphasis is more on him than it is on the champion? That’s how you know he is going to be a star. It should be a great fight and I’m interested to see how he gets the job done, I’m confident he will win.”
“Without a doubt, he will be Britain’s next boxing star. I’m still unsure where he emerged from but he’s here and the kid’s very good. There’s also not much bravado with him either, he’s not in your face but he’s definitely sure of himself. He just has to trust and believe in his ability and win fights, that’s all he should do and then everyone will start noticing him.
“His persona will grow on the fans as he gets better and better in the ring. You don’t need to be loud to be a star look at someone like Marvin Hagler. He wasn’t in your face or loud, he just went about his business and won fights. This kind of style will grow on the more casual fans as he gets more popular, he is an exciting prospect for British boxing.”
According to CasinoHawks, Dubois could lose £8 million – which includes lost fight earnings (£6.5 million), training camp expenses (£250,000–£400,000), and potential sponsorship losses (£500,000). The Brit was forced to pull out of his showdown with Joseph Parker just days before the pair were due to go head-to-head.
In a sensational turn of events both Bakole and Parker will now go head-to-head after Daniel Duboiswas forced to pull out of his scheduled clash with the former world champion. ‘Triple D’ was hoping to successfully defend his title for a second time after knocking out Anthony Joshua last September.
The Brit fulfilled his media obligations this week, appearing at both the grand arrivals on Tuesday and Wednesday night’s public workout. However, he was taken unwell and was evaluated by a doctor before being forced to withdraw, leading to a last-minute scramble to find a new opponent for Parker.
A monster replacement was eventually secured in Bakole – who is currently one of the most dangerous men at the weight. He comes into the clash after sensationally toppling Jared Anderson from last August. After accepting the call last minute, the Congolese native was quick to head out to Riyadh ahead of the weigh-ins. Ahead of Saturday night’s clash, the 31-year-old tipped the scales at a career-heavy weight, 310lb, 43lb heavier than Parker who is also his heaviest yet at 267lb.
Heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois was forced to pull out of tonight’s title fight against Joseph Parker due to a virus. Boxing promoter Frank Warren has hit out at ‘trolls’ online targeting the Brit.
Speaking to boxing betting site, he said: “Daniel felt he had a bit of a cold. He saw a local Saudi doctor and was given medication and had to make sure none of the ingredients were on the banned list.He was desperate to fight and is very peed off about it but a boxer’s health is paramount and if you aren’t fit to fight, then don’t fight.”
He added: “Daniel was getting an unbelievable purse so it is very disappointing but it is what it is. To these people that are trolling Daniel – get a life and live in the real world. We paid for a good camp and went through everything in the last few months and if you don’t fight, you don’t get paid.”
Legendary boxing coach Teddy Atlas is tipping Dmitry Bivol to level the series this evening. In an interview with CanadaCasino.Ca, he said: “The reason I picked Bivol to win the first fight it’s the same reason I’m gonna pick him now. Everyone thinks that Beterbiev is the guy that has the upper hand in the mental area because he’s so mentally strong and mentally focused, and the other guy [Bivol] is more skillful athletically. But Bivol is the guy who’s mentally together, who’s mentally strong. That guy is mentally strong. That guy is determined, that guy is a monster. I think Bivol is a monster in his mind, too. I think he’s mentally strong in his mind, too, and I think that he’s learned things from the last fight.
“He got answers to questions that he didn’t have the answers to going in. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure that he could handle the boogeyman. Nobody’s ever sure. Nobody. No matter how you project. And he projected a stoic projection because he is strong mentally, but inside I know he still had to wonder ‘can I handle the boogeyman’. He got the answer. Now he knows he can be in there with the boogeyman. I think that internally it will make a difference with him, where he’ll be more consistent in certain areas, where he may have moved too much and allowed Beterbiev to be able to push him back and steal ends of rounds by keeping him defensive. Now he’ll be able to get a good mixture of movement and punching. I will go with Bivol in the rematch.”
A comfortable points win for home favourite Ziyad Almaayouf, he wins every round in the opening fight of the night.
This is the proposed schedule tonight (UK times)…
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol – 11pm
Joseph Parker vs Martin Bakole – 9.40pm
Shakur Stevenson vs Josh Padley – 8.35pm
Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz – 7.35pm
Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov – 6.40pm
Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel – 5.40pm
Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith – 4.45pm
Welcome to our live coverage of the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol as they meet again for the undispuited light-heavyweight world title. Back in October, it was Beterbiev who had his hand raised after a back-and-forth fight for the ages.
The co-main event should feature heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois but he pulled out of his fight with Joseph Parker on Thursday after taking ill. Instead, New Zealander Parker will take on late-substitute Martin Bakole who only arrived in Saudi Arabia this morning.
Stick with us for every blow from this tremendous fight card.
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