Martin Bakole says he has no regrets about stepping in at late notice to face Joseph Parker - and wants to book a rematch with the New Zealand man by beating Efe Ajagba this weekend.

Bakole was in his native Congo when the news broke during fight week that IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois was sick and therefore unable to defend his belt against Parker on the February 22 card at The Venue in Riyadh.

It looked as though Parker, The Ring’s No.3-rated heavyweight, would therefore go without a fight at all but Bakole answered the call and almost immediately boarded a flight to Riyadh via Nigeria.

He arrived in The Kingdom less than 24 hours before the fight and was stopped by Parker after 2:17 of the second round.

Now, 10 weeks on from that defeat, the Ring’s No.8-rated heavyweight will return to the very same Riyadh ring to face Nigeria’s Ajagba in an all-African derby. This time, however, he has a full camp behind him and arrived with plenty of time to acclimatise.

Victory against Ajagba will set him back on the path towards his first world heavyweight title shot so he insists answering the call to face Parker and save the show was no mistake.

“I have no regrets about that decision,” he told The Ring in Riyadh. “It was a big favour to someone who has helped me and organised every fight I want, His Excellency. I owed this favour to him.

“He said regardless of the result against Parker, win or lose, I would still be here to face Ajagba and here I am, he kept that promise. That’s why I said ‘yes, no problem’ and jumped on the flight.

“I do not regret it because I don’t even see it that I lost the fight. It doesn’t really count because of the way it happened.

“I had not given this fight any thought. I had even bought the fight on DAZN so I could watch Joseph Parker and Daniel Dubois. So it was a surprise that it ended up being me who fought him.

“The important thing is that I am here now for this fight. This was always the fight I was having in my head.”

But with a string of heavyweights also jostling for position in the race for a crack at the world titles, a defeat against 20-1 (14) Ajagba, currently No.10 in The Ring rankings, is unthinkable.

A second loss in less than three months would put Bakole to the back of the queue but he hopes a victory will unlock a chance at redemption against Parker.

“I want to win this fight and then ask His Excellency to make that rematch please," Bakole added. "With a full camp and the right preparation I know I would beat him.

“I don’t think Joseph Parker would say yes to a rematch but I know the fans would love to see it. I have had a lot of people messaging me on social media saying they want to see Martin Bakole after a full camp against Joseph Parker.

“I feel like I deserve that because I saved that fight. Even Parker, I saved his camp which he spent a lot of money on. I need the chance to put it right.

“That’s why Saturday’s fight means a lot. I need to get back on track and start asking His Excellent every day to get me that rematch.”

Bakole vs. Ajagba is part of the DAZN PPV undercard to the Saul Alvarez vs. William Scull undisputed showdown at super middleweight.