A world heavyweight title fight between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker would have been hard to predict just over a year ago.
This Saturday the pair meet in Riyadh in one of the most anticipated and potentially thrilling championship fights at heavyweight for a long time; they are in sparkling form and both saved their careers with successive wins as underdogs.
Parker won the WBO world title in 2016, lost it, lost his way, but has now been in a long, long period of restoration and glittering success. Dubois was unbeaten and then suffered crushing defeats in two fights before a three-fight sequence transformed his career.
The prize on Saturday night in Riyadh is the IBF belt, which Dubois first defended last September at Wembley Stadium when he dropped and stopped Anthony Joshua in front of nearly 100,000 people. It was simply the latest step in his personal fairytale of redemption.
Parker lost to Joshua, Dillian Whyte and Joe Joyce and his career was in danger of vanishing in late 2022; Parker rallied, changed his methods, worked day and night with the training partnership of Andy Lee and George Lockhart, and then the wins came. He won against the odds and won well; Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang were his victims. Suddenly, nobody wanted to fight Parker.
A fight that would have seemed like a fantasy in September 2023, now looks like being one of the best title fights for a long time. They are each in irresistible form, both know how to beat the other man, and both remain convinced that the other man has flaws that can be exposed; it’s a perfect storm of confidence, form and anticipation.
Dubois is still only 27, which means he is nearly a decade younger than Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Joshua; Parker is 33 and has fought 38 times. Dubois is an inch taller at 6ft 5in, was a pound heavier in his last fight and also has the edge in power, having stopped or knocked out 21 of the 22 men he has faced. Parker has the experience of winning and losing in hard competitive fights, often over the championship distance of 12 rounds. Parker always fights to the bitter and often painful end, while Dubois has lost twice in fights that were dramatically slipping away before he folded.
Parker is confident that he can apply enough smart pressure to break Dubois and force the champion to quit. Dubois simply believes that he will walk through Parker, get to him and hurt him early. It feels like both plans are dependent on the old Dubois and old Parker showing up; Dubois was fragile under pressure and Parker could be worn down. There is no doubt that since late 2023, both Parker and Dubois have changed.
Dubois has been stopped twice, dropped and beaten in difficult fights. Parker lost his world title on points to Joshua in 2018, dropped a decision to Whyte and was stopped late in a brutal brawl against Joyce in 2022. Joyce and Whyte fight each other in April.
Parker and Dubois have each transformed in their last fights, changed their ways, improved in so many areas and that is why it is such an intriguing fight; the new Dubois beats the old Parker in style and the new Parker walks through the old Dubois. The question is: How much can a man really change?
The feeling inside the rival camps is simple – both boxers are vulnerable to their past. Dubois and Parker sincerely believe that their opponent’s old ways are just under the surface and that they will be exposed once the bell sounds.
They each know that the winner is likely to be on Usyk’s radar, the winner is very likely to get invited back to Riyadh for a fight at the end of the year for all four of the world heavyweight titles. The undisputed title is the secret agenda behind the Saudi Arabian boxing revolution; fewer belts, less politics, more undisputed fights.
The winner of Parker and Dubois will have truly earned the right to step in and face Usyk.
