Joseph Parker eyes Oleksandr Usyk, but says he will fight ‘anyone and everyone’

Joseph Parker didn’t get the opponent he wanted, but he got the night he needed.

On Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the co-main event to the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol headliner, Parker blasted out last-minute replacement foe Martin Bakole in the second round.

Bakole was summoned when Parker’s original opponent, heavyweight titleholder Daniel Dubois, dropped out of his defense because of a viral infection. The result: Parker, 36-3 (24 KOs), didn’t get his shot at a title but sustained his stunning late-career resurgence by wiping out Bakole, 21-2 (16 KOs), a powerful fighter whose 2024 destruction of Jared Anderson earned him consideration as a potential rising star in the division.

New Zealand’s Parker is now 9-1 while working with trainer Andy Lee, including, most recently, wins over some of the sport’s biggest punchers: former heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder and contender Zhilei Zhang. The fighter credited Lee and his team for all the work that went into preparing for Dubois, as well as the cram session to adjust for Bakole.

“I’m fit, I’m strong, I’m healthy, I’m sharp, thanks to [my team] and my hard work as well,” Parker said.

Bakole, clearly not in optimal shape at over 300lbs, was lumbering and lethargic – but hard-hitting and hard to budge. Parker’s blows initially appeared to have little effect, but he was already beginning the process of breaking Bakole down before the bell sounded to end the first round.

“When I came back to the corner, Andy gave me instructions just to be patient, and when the overhead right comes, when he walks in and attacks, that’s when you have to take your shot,” Parker said. “That’s the best way, is to catch them when they’re coming in.”

Parker cracked Bakole’s jaw with a right hand, then sent another crashing to the crown of his head, staggering and felling the big man from Congo after a slight delayed reaction. Bakole climbed to his feet by the count of ten, but his corner waved the white flag rather than let their discombobulated fighter take another punch.

Would Dubois have met the same fate? Will he give Parker a chance to find out? Or will Parker move on to other, even greener pastures, as his overtures to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and Queensberry promoter Frank Warren sitting at ringside seemed to suggest?

“I want to say, ‘Who’s next?’ How do I fight for the world title next?” Parker said. “If Usyk wants a dance partner, I’ll get Uncle Frank to come in here and lock down a fight with Usyk. But I want to fight for a world title, and I’d like to be world champion again, too.

“I will fight anyone and everyone.”