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Joseph Parker explains why he wanted to face Martin Bakole after Daniel Dubois withdrawal
Jospeh Parker has gone from the hunter to the hunted in a matter of days, and that's just fine by him.
Parker was set to challenge IBF world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in the co-main even of Saturday's The Last Crescendo card, but Dubois was forced to withdraw on Thursday due to illness. Hours later, reports came in that Martin Bakole would step in to replace Dubois, and indeed that is the case as the Congolese fighter is now Parker's new opponent this weekend.
Instead of a having a shot at adding the IBF title to his trophycase, Parker must now defend his own WBO interim belt against an opponent in Bakole who has emerged as one of the heavyweight division's most feared fighters, but the 33-year-old New Zealander isn't shying away from the challenge.
"I wanted this fight," Parker told DAZN's Todd Grisham at Friday's weigh-ins. "I wanted this fight because I want to challenge myself, and Martin Bakole's right up there [with the best]. Bring him on!"
Parker ackowledged that his game plan for Dubois, which he worked on for months prior to this week, has to be altered for Bakole. Keeping his cards close to his chest, the Kiwi assured that he'll be ready when he steps into the ring on Saturday.
"There's a few changes that we've worked on last night," he said. "We've spoken about it today, and it's all gonna come together tomorrow."
Watch The Last Crescendo card live on DAZN PPV
Watch the full Last Crescendo fight card, including Beterbiev vs Bivol and Parker vs Bakole, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View.
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