Bakole had garnered the label of "the boogeyman of the heavyweight division," with his power, size and ability to walk down opponents leading to trouble finding opponents. To Parker's credit, he jumped at the chance to face Bakole after Dubois pulled out of the bout, taking the IBF heavyweight title with him.

When Joseph Parker was slated to face Daniel Dubois in the heavyweight co-main event to Artur Beterbiev's rematch with Dmitry Bivol, there was a clear