However, Britain's Dubois was forced to withdraw from the Parker fight on Thursday, which was set to co-headline the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 mega-card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Parker will instead defend his WBO interim heavyweight title against dangerous contender Martin Bakole on the show.

Dubois was due to defend the IBF heavyweight title against Parker on Saturday, but the champion was pulled from the fight on two days’ notice due to illness. That led Bakole to step in, as the “most-avoided” heavyweight fights Parker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Daniel Dubois was set to defend his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker on Saturday, on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch card in Saudi Arabia. Disaster struck on Thursday, after it was announced that Dubois was suffering from illness, which forced the champion out of the fight against Parker.