Beterbiev vs Bivol 2: Date, UK time, records, predictions & full card including Parker vs Bakole - BBC Sport
Published 3 weeks ago• 6 minute read
Highly-rated Congolese fighter Martin Bakole has accepted the call to replace Dubois and will meet Parker in a non-title fight.
A stellar card in Riyadh has taken a hit during fight week with Floyd Schofield Jr also pulling out of his bout with WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson.
Beterbiev holds all the four major light-heavyweight world titles
Beterbiev and Bivol will contest every major world title in their rematch, with the IBF, WBO, WBA and WBC light-heavyweight belts up for grabs.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Martin Bakole made his professional debut in 2014
Bakole has a record of 21 wins from his 22 fights, with his solitary defeat coming against American Michael Hunter in 2018.
The 31-year-old has won each of his last 10 fights with eight of those wins coming inside the distance.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bakole is now based in Scotland and boasts some serious power, recording 16 victories by knockout.
Bakole stands at 6ft 6in, making him two inches taller than opponent Parker, and has a reach of 77 inches - one inch longer than the New Zealander.
His most recent trip to the ring came in August 2024 when stopping American Jared Anderson in round five and he weighed in at 20st 3lb.
Prior to facing Anderson, Bakole stopped Carolos Takam in four rounds after tipping the scales at a career-heavy 21st 4lb.
Bakole's weight is a big talking point after agreeing to face Parker on just two days notice.
"I think I will shock the world tomorrow," Bakole said in a video posted on X.
"I'm a boxer. A boxer is like a soldier, anytime they ask me to go to war I will always be ready.
"So I am ready to go. I lost out on the camp yeah, but we are ready."
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Dubois beat Anthony Joshua in September when making the first defence of his IBF heavyweight title
Everything appeared to be going according to plan for Dubois as he prepared to make the second defence of his IBF heavyweight title.
Dubois, 27, attended Tuesday's grand arrival in Riyadh and he was in the ring on Wednesday at the open workout, however, it all started to crumble on Thursday.
Reports emerged around 45 minutes before Thursday's news conference, that Dubois was unwell.
Queensberry's Frank Warren, who promotes Dubois, did not reference the Briton at the undercard news conference but he was a no-show at the main card news conference an hour later.
Warren confirmed Dubois was being assessed by doctors with a deflated Parker insisting he would remain on the card.
As Parker left the stage he told BBC Radio 5 Live that he had no update on Dubois' reported withdrawal and said no other opponents had been mentioned.
Just minutes later Bakole was announced as the replacement.
Beterbiev won the first contest on points by a narrow margin in October last year.
One judge scored the contest a 114-114 draw, with the other scorecards reading 115-113 and 116-112 to Beterbiev.
The public was split on who came out on top after 12 rounds, with the likes of Bivol's promoter Eddie Hearn saying he was "disgusted" by the decision.
The fight itself swung back and forth, with both men enjoying success. Beterbiev had success with body shots and landed more power punches in the second half of the contest. He peaked in the 11th round with 17 of the 21 punches he landed power shots.
Bivol leaned heavily on his movement and jab. His accuracy with total punches landed was better than Beterbiev's in every single round.
Both men were hurt in the seventh round, but neither was able to secure what would have been a crucial knockdown.
The bout was contested at a ferocious pace, with 1,105 combined punches thrown. Bivol landed more, 142 punches to Beterbiev's 137. But Beterbiev landed more power shots, 90 to Bivol's 84.
That said, Bivol was more accurate in his punching landing 34% overall and 50% of his power shots, while Beterbiev managed 20% overall and 29% of his power shots.
The statistics tell the story of a razor-close contest, setting up the prospect of another classic in the rematch.
Heavyweight Delicious Orie: "Beterbiev does it again. They are both so experienced but Beterbiev has that power and raw strength to push his opponent back."
Swedish fighter Otto Wallin: "Really tough to call, It's a 50/50 fight. The first fight was close and I'm sure this one will be as well but Beterbiev got the win the first time so I'm sure he can do it again."
Retired boxer & pundit Darren Barker: "I favour Bivol. Although I also feel Beterbiev can do more, Bivol can replicate what he did last time and add more. I feel Bivol will find a way and it sets up an inevitable trilogy. He needs to be a little more proactive, pick the moments and fill in the gaps with the jabs and feints. Try and do what Beterbiev is trying to do, slow him down in the stretch."
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn: "It's another 50/50 fight. Everything I hear from Bivol is that he wasn't at 100% last time. He's not an excuse-maker but I said before, Beterbiev is a ticking time bomb, it's how long you can last before the bomb goes off. It went off last time in the 10th round and it started to get tough in 10, 11 and 12. For nine rounds Dmitry boxed his ear holes off. Can he do it for 12? Or can he put a dent in Beterbiev?"
