Joseph Parker came out on top on February 22 when he faced Martin Bakole at The Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout served as the co-feature on the card, topped by a rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
The scheduled 12-round contest didn’t go the distance. Parker claimed the win by knockout, dropping his late-replacement opponent from Congo with a right hand that caught him on top of the head. Referee Steve Gray waved the fight off at 2:17 into the second round after the latter’s corner called it a day.
Joseph Parker, who was originally scheduled to challenge Daniel Dubois for his IBF heavyweight title, retained his interim WBO belt. The 33-year-old former champion from South Auckland, New Zealand, improved to 36-3, 24 KOs, and earned his sixth straight victory.
Martin Bakole, who took the fight on two days’ notice and weighed in at 310 lbs, dropped to 21-2, 16 KOs. The Airdrie, Scotland-based 33-year-old saw his 10-fight winning streak snapped.
This was not an easy fight. Joseph showed heart and he did well. Congrats to him.