Boxing's latest dynamic duo Joseph Parker and Andy Lee kept the train rolling last weekend with a destructive knockout performance over Martin Bakole - but now there's bigger fish to fry.

New Zealander Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) iced Bakole in just two rounds on Saturday's Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol undercard in Riyadh, but he was previously scheduled to challenge Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) for the Brit's IBF heavyweight title.

Dubois fell ill two days before the fight and was replaced with Congo's Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) within a couple of hours. Having beaten up and stopped Jared Anderson (17-1, 15 KOs) on a Riyadh Season card back in August, most were expecting a competitive and potentially gruelling fight for Parker.

It was clear, however, that Bakole hadn't been in training camp, coming in at over 310 pounds. Parker, 33, made quick work of his opponent, stunning him with a shot on the top of the head and ending proceedings in the second round.

It was the third big consecutive victory for Parker under Lee's tutelage, after the pair overcame Zhilei Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KOs) last summer and Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) six months before that.

Lee now wants his man to go for the very top of the division in Usyk, with Dubois' return to action now uncertain.

"He's the best heavyweight in the world, give him a chance to prove it, he's the best in the world," Lee said of Parker to .

"[We want] Usyk, Usyk, Usyk. Joe beats him. Joe's faster, he's agile enough, and we've got the power. Joe's younger and fresher, he can match him in every way. Trust me, you might not believe me but trust me."

On taking the Bakole fight against the advice of Parker's manager Spencer Brown, Lee admitted he doubted himself for a moment after reading comments on social media.

Lee added: "Joe wanted the biggest challenge. It's easy on reflection now [to look at the result] but I read all the comments [before the fight] and I started to doubt my decision.

"Everyone said it was crazy for Joe to take this fight, but anyway, it worked out well. Give us a title next, Joe needs a title fight.

"He trained for eight weeks, he shard-parred plenty rounds, he was in Saudi for three weeks, he's been eating the best of food from George [Lockheart], he's had the best preparation anyone could ever have - and poor old Martin had to fly halfway across the world on 24 hours' notice. So we had all the advantages but I don't care; that punch would've knocked out anybody."

Bakole is still likely to face Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) in an IBF final eliminator on May 2 - Ring Magazine's first US card which is to be headlined by Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero in New York City.

The situation between Parker, Dubois and Usyk will go back to the negotiating table in the meantime.

While Lee wants Usyk for Parker, it's likely that Dubois and Usyk would prefer a fight with each other given the opportunity to fight for undisputed honours.