It wasn’t the opponent he had been expecting or the meaningful matchup for which he had been planning, but Joseph Parker continued his late-career resurgence with a second-round knockout of Martin Bakole on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The fight was the co-main event to the light heavyweight rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
To Bakole’s credit, this was not a fight he was expecting to take, either. He woke up on Thursday morning with no inkling that he would soon be flying to Saudi Arabia to step into the ring with Parker, but after the New Zealander’s scheduled opponent, Daniel Dubois, withdrew because of a viral infection, Congol’s Bakole, 21-2 (16 KOs), accepted the invitation to step in at literally the last minute.
But boxers have training camps for a reason, and while Parker had been preparing diligently for a fight on Saturday, Bakole tipped the scale at 315 pounds – 30 pounds more than he weighed for his career-invigorating knockout of Jared Anderson last year.
The expectation was that, were the Congolese boxer to have any chance, he would need to exert pressure on Parker from the opening bell and seek an early knockout before his lack of conditioning betrayed him. Instead, he spent the opening frame walking slowly toward Parker, who circled him warily, firing out jabs and occasional straight rights from distance.
A right hand from Parker, 36-3 (24 KOs), landed flush toward the end of the round, but a sharp counter uppercut from Bakole served warning that, even in less than stellar shape, he had the strength and natural hand speed to cause Parker all manner of troubles if he were to drop his guard.
In the event, it was Parker whose power proved decisive. After a tentative opening few minutes, he began stepping into his punches, backing the big man toward the ropes.
A big right hand from Parker exploded on the jaw of Bakole, who shook his head to show he was unhurt. Seconds later, however, another Parker right hand landed on the top of Bakole’s head, instantly interrupting his momentum and causing him to fall down in stages before ultimately crashing onto his back, legs akimbo.
He beat the count, but referee Steve Gray called a halt to the action. Time was 2:17 of the round.
Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.
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