Leaked footage of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk reacting live to Joseph Parker’s brutal second-round knockout win over Martin Bakole has gone viral on social media.
Parker was originally supposed to fight Daniel Dubois, and the two resurgent heavyweights had generated excitement for their participation in the Riyadh Season event that took place on the 22nd of February, with Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev in the main event. Dubois, though, withdrew citing illness, which was an absence that left organizers scrambling for a late-replacement opponent. The fighter who boxing financier Turki Alalshikh drafted in, Bakole, ensured there was no hype lost as the heavyweight, in his last fight, halted the ascendance of Jared Anderson by thumping him into smithereens last summer.
Joshua, who defeated Parker in 2018, and Usyk, the unified heavyweight champion, watched with interest from ringside as Parker beat Bakole down and out for good.
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As Parker put his fight-finishing punches together, Usyk and Joshua — watching from ringside sitting next to each other — sensed early drama was about to unfold and reacted hilariously, like they were excitable kids watching the sport with fresh eyes, and seeing a live knockout for the very first time.
Watch the viral footage right here:
Parker, without question, scored the knockout of the night. His co-feature win over Bakole preceded an electric main event between master light heavyweight fighters Bivol and Beterbiev, with the former scoring a revenge win over the latter. Though a trilogy fight is a logical bout to make next, Bivol could be enticed should Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez pursue a lucrative rematch with him. Canelo has hinted in the past that a second Bivol fight, between 168 and 175 pounds, is a preferential option for him over fighting David Benavidez.
Earlier in the show, Vergil Ortiz scored a career-defining win with a decision over Israil Madrimov, and Carlos Adames and Hamzah Sheeraz were inseparable, with judges offering a split draw for the middleweight fight.
