Daniel Dubois exits Joseph Parker clash, exciting heavyweight slotted in as late replacement

A recent report from DAZN revealed that the co-main eventer for 'The Last Crescendo' event, Daniel Dubois, had pulled out of his fight against Joseph Parker citing health issues. However, the authorities didn't let the fight fall flat as they managed to find a last-minute replacement.

The Saudi Arabian authorities have widely promoted 'The Last Crescendo's' card as 'The Fight Card Of The Century'. The eagerly-awaited rematch between the current undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol is set to headline the coveted fight card, containing several other championship clashes. However, it won't feature the IBF heavyweight championship fight anymore after Dubois's pullout.

A few hours back, an X update from the combat sports reporter, Ariel Helwani, disclosed that the Dubois vs. Parker fight was in jeopardy due to the former's health issues. Despite mentioning that the authorities were trying to save the encounter, Helwani predicted that it would be a tough task to complete especially since there are only a couple of days left before the event.

However, a recent X update from @ringmagazine revealed that the authorities had managed to save the fight with the 21-1 record-boasting heavyweight, Martin Bakole, stepping in as Dubois's replacement on just a few hours notice:

"Joseph Parker will now face Martin Bakole in a heavyweight clash on Saturday night after Daniel Dubois was ruled out due to illness."

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Another encounter apart from the Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker fight was also saved by a last-minute replacement

'The Last Crescendo' is set to feature several coveted encounters besides the touted rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in the main event. However, another fighter decided to pull out of his fight due to health issues a day back, just like Daniel Dubois' recent withdrawal.

However, on Feb. 19 several reports revealed that Shakur Steveson's rival, Floyd Schofield, had also pulled out of his WBC lightweight title fight scheduled for the undercard of 'The Last Crescendo'. But the authorities managed to save this one as well by bringing in the undefeated lightweight, Josh Padley, as Scholfield's replacement.

Check out the full fight card for 'The Last Crescendo' below:

• Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol for the WBC, WBO, WBA, and IBF light heavyweight titles (undisputed)
• Joseph Parker vs. Martin Bakole (heavyweight fight)
• Carlos Adams vs. Hamzah Sheeraz for the WBC middleweight title
• Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel for the WBC interim heavyweight title
• Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israil Madrimov for the WBC interim super welterweight title
• Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith for the WBO interim light heavyweight title
• Shakur Stevenson vs. Josh Padley for the WBC lightweight title
• Ziyad Al Maayouf vs. Jonatas de Oliveira (light welterweight fight)
• Mohammed Alakel vs. Engel Gomez (lightweight fight)