- Bakole weighed nearly 30lbs more than last contest as last-minute replacement
- The Congo heavyweight cut short his holiday to take the fight but suffered defeat
It took just two rounds for Joseph Parker to put Martin Bakole away as the referee waved off the contest following a big knockdown in Saudi Arabia.
The Congolese heavyweight, who tipped the scales at 310lbs and was on holiday when he answered the call to replace Daniel Dubois, took a big right hand over the top that stopped him in his tracks.
Bakole was walking Parker down in the first round, but Parker used his speed to figure out the puzzle.
Parker called for a title shot after the fight, but he might be waiting a while as Dubois will reportedly face Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed contest leaving Parker, a former WBO champion, as the odd one out.
Bakole will earn around £475,000 for his troubles and despite the ever-dangerous fighter he is, taking a fight on 48 hours notice where half of that time is travelling to the fight itself is too much for any man.
This would have been a different fight if Bakole had been in camp. Maybe not the result, but the fight would have been different if we saw the fighter who defeated top American prospect Jared Anderson last year at some 30lbs lighter.
Joseph Parker knocked out Martin Bakole – the referee had no interest in continuing contest
There was plenty of respect between the two men at the end of the bout in Saudi Arabia
Parker had been set to challenge for the IBF heavyweight title, but Dubois fell ill during fight week causing a last-minute rush to find a replacement.
The Kiwi has now navigated a potential banana skin in Bakole and is primed to fight for a world title in the next year.
Elsewhere on the Last Crescendo card, Josh Padley valiantly went nine rounds with Shakur Stevenson, also as a last minute replacement.
The Yorkshire fighter had four days’ notice instead of Bakole’s two, but fought bravely against a three-weight world champion until the American moved in for the kill.
Parker is on fire over the past year with wins over Wilder, Zhang and Bakole
Jeff Powell in Riyadh
The monster from the Congo arrived in the early hours of one morning. Saw the sun rise over the desert and was conquered shortly after midnight beneath a crescent moon.
Has there ever been such a late replacement?
Has a giant ever been slain so quickly since Goliath?
Do not blame the reduction of Martin Bakole to 310lbs of wobbling bluffer solely on his jet-lagged journey from another continent.
Credit the Kiwi with warrior Samoan blood in his veins for standing up to the biggest unit in the hardest game and throwing his slingshot for the ages.
There is no more popular fighter in this hard old game than Joseph Parker. Nor less complaining.
Having been robbed of his tilt at his second world heavyweight title by the sickness which sent Daniel Dubois home early, Parker simply set about demolishing the vast obstacle put in his path in order, hoping to revive his challenge to another.
Parker is in his late flowering prime at 33 and a threat to anyone. Champions Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk included.
Bakole looked stunned he had been put down so early, but faced a tough task in the bout
He must be given his opportunity after biting the early bazookas from Bakole. Then softening him up with brilliant combinations.
Finally bringing him down like King Kong from atop the Empire State with a right hand from the gods to the temple.
