Two Huge Last Minute Changes to Beterbiev vs Bivol 2 Mega Card
Saturday 22nd was set to hold what is widely regarded as one of the best cards the sport of boxing has ever seen, but with less than 48 hours until the fight night, the card was handed two last-minute drop-outs with replacements found for both.
The Co-Main Event was scheduled to be a World Heavyweight Title fight with Daniel Dubois defending his IBF crown against New Zealand's Joseph Parker, but the IBF Champion will no longer be on the card due to illness.
This comes just a mere 24 hours after Shakur Stevenson's opponent was withdrawn from the card, to be filled in by WBC Silver Lightweight Champion and part-time electrician, Joshua Padley.
Opportunities like these don't come around often for fighters with the chance to secure their financial future and put their names on the world map. Undoubtedly, many fighters will have been calling their managers to get their name in the hat, but only two men were given the call-up.
The Heavyweight Clash
Joseph Parker (35-3-0) will no longer be challenging for a world title on Saturday night after Daniel Dubois has been removed from the card with illness, having been admitted to hospital shortly prior to the press conferences this evening.
Despite this, he will still be in a world title-level fight up against Boxxer's Martin Bakole (21-1-0) who comes off the back of a violent knockout performance over American Heavyweight Jared Anderson in Los Angeles last year.
Bakole, partly down to the tireless work on social media from his trainer Billy Nelson, has been coined 'the boogeyman' of the heavyweight division, with fellow Saturday night challenger Agit Kabayel turning down an opportunity to fight the giant heavyweight. Bakole comes into the fight however without any camp or preparation, as he wasn't scheduled to enter the ring until May.
It is not yet confirmed whether Joseph Parker will be putting his WBO Interim title on the line against the Congolese giant, but despite this, he will be confident going into the clash with a full camp and preparation behind him. The question remains will we see the fitter, smaller fighter win on the night, or will the power of Bakole be too much once again.
The Opportunity of a Lifetime
On the other end of the fighting scale, we have the ultimate underdog story on our hands, with WBC Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson (22-0-0) set to face off with Joshua Padley (15-0-0), who just 12 months ago was preparing to get in the ring in the less than glamorous Leeds United Banqueting Suite at Elland Road.
The Doncaster native has already caused a massive upset after defeating the unbeaten Mark Chamberlain at Wembley Stadium in September.
It has been reported, along with lots of alternate noise and controversial accusations, that Floyd Schofield (18-0-0) was sent to hospital due to illness and pulled from the card due to not being in a position to fight.
This came after rumours of the British Boxing Board of Control stopping the fight due to Schofield missing a mandatory fight week weight check and even accusations of the fighter being poisoned by members of Stevenson's team.
What we do know, is this fight will have secured Joshua Padley's future, win or loss it will put him in the position to fight full-time as a professional boxer, leaving his job as an electrician.
But the excitement remains that we could possibly see the greatest upset in recent boxing history, a three-weight champion defeated on just three days notice by a part-time professional from sunny Yorkshire.
Final Thoughts
Whilst the card has lost two strong 50-50 clashes, it remains one of the strongest of recent memory, with 6 World or World Interim title fights and one clash between two of the top ten heavyweights in the world.
Whether you want underdog stories, Undisputed fights, massive heavyweight clashes or domestic grudge matches, Beterbiev vs Bivol 2 is still a serious belter of a boxing card.