Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) has a chance to dethrone IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) in their 12-round co-feature spot this Saturday, February 22nd, on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
The Dubois-Parker fight is viewed as important enough for Turki Alalshikh to place the match as the chief support ahead of the Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israil Madrimov bout, which fans have been talking more about.
Dubois and Parker need to show Turki that he was right to place their fight ahead of the others because it could be disappointing if it’s dull. Parker’s last two fights against Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder lacked drama.
What Experts Say
“Daniel is moving in the right direction at 27. His style suits him. Joseph Parker is a clever guy and a spoiler,” said Johnny Nelson to Boxing News, talking about this Saturday’s fight between IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I know he has the beating of Daniel, but this version of Dubois, he’s a train going in the right direction. Working with Don Charles. He understands what he’s got to do with Daniel.”
“This could be a 50-50 for me. I either Dubois splatters him, or Parker old man’s him and does his thing,” said Moses Itauma.
Dubois will need to push a consistent pace without gassing out because Parker is going to be fighting defensively, staying out of range, and fighting in spurts to try and steal rounds. He’ll be changing angles and using a lot of upper-body movement to prevent Dubois from having a stationary target to land his shots.
It will be much harder for him to land on Parker than in any other fight he’s had in the pros, but he can do it if he’s patient.
Keys to Victory
“I think if anyone can upset Dubois, it would be Parker, who has the quicker hands out of the two,” said Darren Barker. “Perhaps not the quickest feet in comparison to Dubois. I think Dubois has very good feet. He slides in and out of range really well, but the hand speed certainly lands with Parker.”
There’s not much of a difference in hand speed. Parker is a little faster, but not enough to give him a significant advantage that can carry him to victory. Parker can win if he can stay out of range of Dubois and connect with a sneaky shot. He would have a better chance of winning if he could fight out of the southpaw stance.
Former cruiserweight Kevin Lerena dropped Dubois three times with left hands in their fight on December 3, 2022. Lerena could have won if he’d continued unloading on Dubois, but he stopped throwing after the first round.
“He’s got a good chin. He was dropped by Zhilei Zhang [twice], but I think a good chin isn’t getting dropped. It’s being able get back up and recover and win the fight. It was a close fight. But the power and physical presence and the self-belief that Dubois now has, you have to lean towards him,” said Barker.
If you look at the Zhang-Parker fight, the only reason Parker survived the two knockdowns is because Zhang had problems with his stamina. He was exhausted by the third round, and he only dropped Parker because his power was still formidable enough to put him down in the fifth and eighth.
“Parker is in a great place. He really believes in himself. At 33, he’s in his prime. With the experience that he’s got, I wouldn’t be shocked if Parker were to win. I’d be far from shocked,” said Barker.
Parker is going to have to fight much better than he did in his last fight against Zhilei Zhang for him to have a chance of beating Dubois.
Last Updated on 02/16/2025
