An unknown epidemic of sorts appears to be plaguing Saudi Arabia as at least two fighters have now pulled out of the upcoming February 22 card; first, Floyd Schofield (18-0, 12 KO’s) who withdrew under circumstances still considered dubious while Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KO’s), the IBF heavyweight (200+ lbs) champion was also forced to pull out due to what has been largely attributed to illness.
The Ring, currently owned by Riyadh Season head Turki Alalshikh who helped organize the February 22 card, reported that Daniel Dubois was “feeling sick“ and was being examined by a doctor. A couple hours later, Dubois was confirmed to be unable to participate against New Zealand challenger and WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KO’s).
In a surprising move, Congolese heavyweight Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KO’s) has now been confirmed as Dubois’ replacement against Parker who will now be defending his WBO interim heavyweight title against Bakole. Parker had been set to lose his interim title due to being involved in a world title fight for Dubois’ IBF title but this decision has been rescinded by the WBO following the collapse of the Dubois-Parker fight.
“The WBO will sanction Parker vs. Bakole for the Interim title at Saturday’s “Last Crescendo” event in Riyadh,” WBO president Gustavo Olivieri confirmed.
“The winner will become the [WBO] mandatory challenger for Usyk.“
In addition to the WBO interim title set to be defended by Joseph Parker, the winner of the Parker-Bakole fight will further become acknowledged as the WBO mandatory challenger of the heavyweight division.
Bakole, 33, is considered a top 10 heavyweight in the sport following a crushing victory over American contender Jared Anderson (18-1, 15 KO’s) last August, and him being able to quickly replace Daniel Dubois appears to be quite a coup given his standing in the sport.
The likely availability of Bakole is tied to him having already been in the midst of preparation for a IBF-mandated bout against Nigerian heavyweight Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KO’s) to decide the IBF mandatory challenger. Their fight had been expected to occur this May on another Riyadh Season card.
Like Schofield, the circumstances of Dubois’ illness has been kept tight-lipped as neither the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) that is regulating the card or Riyadh Season have elaborated on what led to both fighters becoming ill days before their upcoming fights this Saturday.
Unlike when Schofield withdrew, whose father Schofield Sr. had induced a number of controversies by blaming a variety of parties, Dubois’ sudden illness puts the country of Saudi Arabia under scrutiny given both fighters fell ill only when they arrived in the country.
For obvious reasons, authorities within the country will not be forthcoming with any information surrounding this illness as it will put their country under suspicion, but with at least two fighters suffering from a mysterious sickness days away from each other, there needs to be a form of accountability to ensure the safety all that visit Saudi Arabia.
The General Entertainment Authority (GEA), headed by Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season may need to be investigated by international health authorities as this is not the first case of a fighter falling ill. Francis Ngannou had previously stated he was dealing with similar health issues himself while staying in Saudi Arabia and preparing for a fight against Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KO’s) on March 8th. Ngannou would go on to lose his fight with Joshua by knockout.
