Beterbiev vs Bivol 2: Undercard Illness Sparks Chaos in Riyadh – Replacement Named

On February 22, the loaded Riyadh Season card headlined by Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 will take place with all eyes in the boxing world firmly placed on this super card. Fight week has seen its fair share of drama with the cancellation of Shakur Stevenson vs Floyd Schofield and as reported first by The Ring Magazine, Daniel Dubois was taken ill and has subsequently been removed from the card. The late replacement to face Joseph Parker has been named.

Daniel Dubois Illness Causes Last-Minute Chaos

Replacement for Daniel Dubois Named

As reported by The Ring, IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) suddenly felt ill and was subsequently evaluated by a doctor and deemed not in the required health to fight.

“Dynamite” was scheduled to defend his title against Kiwi fighter Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs). Three replacement options for Dubois were mentioned by The Ring: Lawrence Okolie, contender David Adeleye, the undefeated Mourad Aliev and the fearsome Martin Bakole.

Bakole the big punching Congolese fighter has now stepped forward and will face the Kiwi fighter on Feb. 22

Despite this being a huge setback for the card, it remains a stacked lineup, with “The Sauce” presented with a unique opportunity to propel himself to the top table in the heavyweight division.

Beterbiev vs Bivol 2 Full Fight Card

• Main event: Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol – for WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring belts
• Joseph Parker vs Martin Bakole – Heavyweights
• Shakur Stevenson vs Josh Padley – for WBC lightweight title
• Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz – for WBC middleweight title
• Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov – for interim WBC super-welterweight title
• Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel – for interim WBC heavyweight title
• Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith – for interim WBO light-heavyweight title
• Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira, 6 rounds, welterweights
• Mohammed Alakel vs. Engel Gomez, 6 rounds, super featherweights

Stay with Big Fight Weekend for coverage of Beterbiev vs Bivol 2, including results and video highlights, and post-fight analysis.