The boxing world is just 10 days away from the highly anticipated heavyweight unified title rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. The first fight, which crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years, is undoubtedly the frontrunner for boxing’s Fight of the Year in 2024, and the winner-take-all rematch on Dec. 21 in Saudi Arabia may very well deliver more of the same.
WBO interim champion Joseph Parker believes the result will be different this time around though.
“The first fight was very back and forth,” Parker told Uncrowned and DAZN’s “Ariel x Ade” show. “I feel that Tyson’s mindset has changed coming into this fight, and I feel like if you have a different mindset, that can bring a lot of changes into how you train and how you approach the fight.
“I believe Tyson can beat Usyk and win on a points decision, but it’s a tough task to ask [against] someone who’s coming in with confidence winning the first time, but also hurting Tyson in the ninth round.
“I’m siding with Tyson,” Parker continued. “And I think it’s going to be a points decision.”
The Usyk vs. Fury rematch will not be for the undisputed title. Usyk was forced to vacate his IBF strap in June because he was unable to defend against his mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois, due to the Ukrainian’s rematch clause with Fury.
Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) was then elevated to be the full IBF champion, and in September at Wembley Stadium he stunningly knocked out Anthony Joshua in his first title defense. Dubois puts his IBF belt on the line for the second time on Feb. 22 against New Zealand’s Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) in the co-featured bout of the huge Riyadh Season card organized by Turki Alalshikh, which has been dubbed by many as one of the best in boxing history.
Parker, 32, held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016-18 until he lost it to Joshua in a unification match. He has long hoped for a second shot at the championship.
That moment finally arrives Feb. 22, but it does require some sacrifices.
“When I leave New Zealand on Friday, I will be gone for 11 weeks,” Parker said. “I won’t see my family for Christmas and New Year’s.
“But I’m really excited for the opportunity that I have to fight Daniel Dubois for the IBF championship of the world and to do my best to become two-time world champion. That will be so beautiful.
“It is difficult. The most difficult part [of] boxing, for me personally, is leaving the family. And the kids have grown up now, they understand that I have to be away for work. There are times when they can come with me and join camp and stay in another house, and I can see them every day. But this time, I really want to focus. It is hard, but we all have to make sacrifices in order to achieve greatness.”
Parker recovered from two knockdowns to upset China’s Zhilei Zhang in March to win the WBO interim strap. Zhang and Parker were contracted for a rematch, so the New Zealander had been preparing for a second meeting with Zhang until he got the call to face Dubois.
“I thought it was a rematch with Zhang [next], so everything that we were doing [was] leading to this rematch with Zhang,” Parker said. “The only difference with Zhang and myself was the weight. My endurance was better, I think the speed was better. Zhang is a very good fighter and [has] great boxing IQ, but the biggest difference was the weight, so I was putting on the size in order to close that gap, the weight difference between Zhang and myself.”
Dubois provides a very different challenge for Parker, however.
Zhang weighed 290 pounds for his fight with Parker, 41.5 pounds heavier than what Dubois weighed against Joshua. The Chinese southpaw is extremely heavy-handed, while Dubois, an orthodox pugilist, is better known for his phenomenal jab and the speed with which he can deliver powerful punches.
“With Dubois, it’s a totally different fight, so we are going to trim down big time,” Parker said. “With Dubois, I have to be quick. [Deontay] Wilder and Zhang [are] both power punchers, the same as Dubois. But Dubois, his endurance is quite … it’s on another level to those two fighters. I have to match him for the endurance that he’s going to bring, but also, he throws a lot of punches — power punches in combinations. Whereas the other guys, they don’t really throw too much. So I have to really lift my game for Dubois.”
Parker, like many, has been surprised by Dubois’ rise and progression as one of the world’s elite heavyweights.
“Against [Jarrell] Miller, I thought Miller. Then came [Filip] Hrgovic, and I thought Hrgovic again. So I’ve been wrong three times. He’s grown in confidence each and every time he gets in the ring,” Parker said.
“I was surprised in the way that he finished Joshua. I thought he would have done something different. But Dubois, all credit to him, he brought the best performance on the night.”
Following Parker’s loss to Joshua in 2018, he lost again in his next fight against Dillian Whyte — putting him far away from the division’s best. The former champion then racked up six wins on the bounce-back, including two decision victories over Derek Chisora, only to be knocked out in the 11th round by Joe Joyce in a 2022 opportunity for the WBO interim title.
Many questioned whether Parker would ever get back to an elite level after his devastating loss to Joyce. What he has done since — five fights unbeaten and wins over Wilder and Zhang — is simply astonishing.
“The difference with the Joseph Parker of then and now is that I’m a lot more mature,” he said. “And also, I appreciate the position that I’m in. I appreciate and I’m grateful for the opportunities that I get. The younger me, I did train hard and do things right, but not everything right. Whereas now, I feel like I live the life, and there’s purpose behind everything I do.
“There’s a lot more motivation, I’m a lot more disciplined. And I’m fighting more so for myself, personally. Before, it was for my dad, [my] coach, [and] different people in the team. But now it’s more so for myself, my wife, and my kids. I feel like I’m a better boxer, I’m a better father, and I’m a better husband. I feel like that altogether — I’m content, I’m happy, and everything now that comes is a bonus, and I’m ready to take on the world.”
