Joseph Parker will attempt to become a two-time heavyweight champion on February 22, challenging IBF belt holder Daniel Dubois in their joint fight on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivolo 2 undercard in Riyadh.
Parker’s return
Former WBO heavyweight champion Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) recently turned his career around, defeating 40-year-olds Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang in back-to-back fights to earn a title shot against Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) at Turki Al-Shiekha card.
Dubois is in his prime, powerful and dangerous. This won’t be the piece of cake that Parker has had in his last two fights against the old guys. It’s a great story that Parker has turned his career around, but this time he’s facing a young, live dog. Dubois is not over the hill.
If Parker had a better chin, he would have a good chance to win, but he doesn’t take punches well, as we saw in his last fight against Zhang on March 8, 2024. Parker went down twice in that fight.
A win for Dubois will put him in position to fight unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title. It would be a rematch of their fight from two years ago on August 26, 2023, which Dubois lost by ninth-round knockout in Wroclaw, Poland. He dropped Usyk earlier in the fight in the fifth round with a body shot, but the referee said it was a low blow. It didn’t seem low to many fans.
“Don’t count your chickens. I don’t think Daniel Dubois will necessarily beat Joseph Parker,” Eddie Hearn told DAZN.
Hearn said he wants Jai Opetaia to fight Usyk for his belts. It won’t be good for Eddie if Dubois beats Parker and faces Usyk next because it would disrupt his plans for the Usyk-Opetai fight. It would be interesting to know what Hearn thinks about the Dubois-Parker fight as he has too much to gain if Dubois loses.
Ring Rust
“By the date of the fight, I will be out of the ring for a year [11 months]. It doesn’t affect me. I’ve been training, and now that I have a big fight, I want to show something different in the ring,” said Joseph Parker to iFL TV about his match against Dubois.
“I want to show polish, aggression, power, speed; I want to show everything,” Parker continued. “A lot is on the line. I got a chance to fight for the belt again. Back then there was a difference in fighting for it [December 10, 2016, against Andy Ruiz Jr.] and conquer it [WBO heavyweight title]. If I win it now, I will appreciate it more and want to keep it.
“Now I’m living life and I love what I do. Back then I was just learning about myself and my life. I had a belt and some money, and I enjoyed myself. Now I have a wife and children and I am much more mature. Win this [IBF title]; I want to keep that and then move on to bigger and better things,” Parker said.
Being out of the ring for 11 months is not a good thing the 32-year-old Parker is trying to describe it because he didn’t look great in his last fight. He’s taking on a young, active fighter, Dubois, and he’s going to have a hard time.
Parker doesn’t say why he hasn’t fought in the past 11 months, but it’s possible that there hasn’t been any money to keep him active. He’s had some nice days in his last two fights against Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder. Parker needs big name fighters like Dubois to keep getting the same money.
Parker’s knockout prediction
“I think I can [knockout out Dubois]but he showed a good chin, he showed grit and determination and he fought when the going got tough, but I believe I can,” Parker said of his belief that he can knock out Dubois.
Parker is unlikely to come close to knocking out Dubois on February 22, and if he does, it will end badly for him. As Parker has transformed his fighting style into a slick boxer, he is not in the pocket long enough to score knockouts.
Because of this, his last two fights were 12 rounds apart against Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder. Parker was lucky to get a decision against Zhang in his last fight on March 8, getting knocked out twice and having to box to survive.
The biggest heavyweight battle of the year so far. February 22. Dubois vs. Parker in Riyadh 🔥🥊#Riyadh season #duboisvparker pic.twitter.com/ARlMuqbucZ
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) January 4, 2025
