Parker makes short work of Bakole
Heavyweight Joseph Parker made short work of late replacement Martin Bakole with a second-round stoppage win.
New Zealand’s Parker, 33, was scheduled to face IBF world champion, Daniel Dubois, before the Briton withdrew because of illness on Thursday.
Bakole made an agonisingly slow entrance draped in the Democratic Republic of Congo flag. The 31-year-old, remarkably, only landed in Riyadh about 24 hours before the first bell.
Now based in Scotland, Bakole weighed 22st 7lb (142.9kg) at an unofficial weigh-in, almost a stone and a half more than a career-heavy Parker.
The past, current and future of heavyweight boxing watched on with legend Lennox Lewis, current world champion, Oleksandr Usyk, and prospect Moses Itauma in attendance.
Bakole found some success, drawing blood from Parker’s nose with an uppercut followed by a stinging left to the body.
Preparation is key in elite boxing, though. Moments later, an overhand counter-right from Parker landed on the top of Bakole’s head and scrambled his senses.
He fell heavily to the canvas and, with 20 seconds left in the round, trainer Billy Nelson threw in the towel.
Parker, who held a world title between 2016 and 2018 – is fully deserving of another shot and welcomed a fight against Ukraine’s unified champion Usyk. —BBC
