Joseph Parker will try to turn into a two-time heavyweight champion on February twenty second, difficult IBF belt-holder Daniel Dubois of their co-feature bout on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 in Riyadh.
Parker’s Comeback
The previous WBO heavyweight champion Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) turned his profession round lately, beating the 40-ish Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang in back-to-back fights to earn himself this title shot in opposition to Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) on Turki Al-Shiekh’s card.
Dubois is in his prime, highly effective and harmful. This gained’t be the piece of cake that Parker had in his final two fights in opposition to previous guys. It’s an excellent story that Parker turned his profession round, however he’s dealing with a younger, reside canine this time. Dubois isn’t over-the-hill.
If Parker had a greater chin, he’d have a superb probability of profitable, however he doesn’t take photographs effectively, as we noticed in his final battle in opposition to Zhang on March 8, 2024. Parker was down twice in that battle.
A victory for Dubois will put him ready to battle unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed championship. That might be a rematch of their battle two years in the past on August 26, 2023, which Dubois misplaced by a ninth-round knockout in Wroclaw, Poland. He’d dropped Usyk earlier within the battle within the fifth spherical with a physique shot, however the referee mentioned it was a low blow. It didn’t look low to many followers.
“Don’t rely your chickens. I don’t assume Daniel Dubois will essentially beat Joseph Parker,” mentioned Eddie Hearn to DAZN.
Hearn mentioned he needs Jai Opetaia to battle Usyk for his belts. It gained’t be good for Eddie if Dubois defeats Parker and faces Usyk subsequent as a result of that will upset his plans for a Usyk-Opetaia battle. It might be fascinating to know what Hearn thinks concerning the Dubois-Parker battle as a result of he has an excessive amount of to achieve if Dubois loses.
Ring Rust
“By the point the battle date comes, I’ll have been out of the ring for a 12 months [11 months]. It doesn’t have an effect on me. I’ve been coaching, and now that I’ve an enormous battle, I need to present one thing totally different within the ring,” mentioned Joseph Parker to iFL TV about his match in opposition to Dubois.
“I need to present slickness, aggression, energy, velocity; I need to present all of it,” Parker continued. “There’s so much on the road. I obtained the chance to battle for the belt once more. There’s a distinction in combating for it again then [December 10, 2016, against Andy Ruiz Jr.] and profitable it [WBO heavyweight title]. If I win it now, I’ll admire it extra, and I need to maintain onto it.
“Now, I reside the life, and I really like what I do. Again then, I used to be simply studying about myself and my life. I had a belt and a bit of cash, and I loved myself. Now, I’ve obtained a spouse and youngsters, and I’m much more mature. Win this [IBF title]; I need to maintain onto it after which transfer on to larger and higher issues,” mentioned Parker.
Being out of the ring for 11 months isn’t a superb factor that the 32-year-old Parker is attempting to color it as as a result of he didn’t look nice in his final battle. He’s taking up a younger, lively fighter, Dubois, and it will likely be robust for him.
Parker doesn’t say why he didn’t battle within the final 11 months, but it surely may very well be that the cash wasn’t there for him to remain lively. He’s gotten a few good paydays in his final two fights in opposition to Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder. Parker wants notable fighters like Dubois to maintain getting that very same sort of dough.
Parker’s KO Prediction
“I feel I can [knockout out Dubois], however he’s proven a superb chin, and he’s proven grit and willpower and fights when it obtained laborious, however I imagine I can,” mentioned Parker about his perception that he can KO Dubois.
It’s unlikely that Parker will come near knocking out Dubois on February twenty second, and if he tries, it can finish badly for him. With how Parker has reworked his combating type right into a artful boxer, he’s not within the pocket lengthy sufficient to attain knockouts.
That’s why his final two fights have gone the 12-round distance in opposition to Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder. Parker was fortunate to get the choice in opposition to Zhang in his final battle on March eighth, getting dropped twice and needing to field to outlive.
The largest heavyweight battle of the 12 months to date. twenty second February. Dubois vs Parker in Riyadh 🔥🥊#Riyadhseason #duboisvparker pic.twitter.com/ARlMuqbucZ
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) January 4, 2025
