Joseph Parker Ready To Face Daniel Dubois
Joseph Parker is ready to face IBF Heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois.
That is according to Parker’s coach, Andy Lee. Parker is in the best form of his life following his last two wins. He defeated Deontay Wilder, beating him via a unanimous decision. The victory was so impressive since Wilder only won one round across all three scorecards. Parker followed that up with a victory against Zhilei Zhang in a majority decision.
Parker was dropped twice but outboxed him in the later rounds, taking it on the scorecards. That has led to speculation over Parker’s next steps. He has been linked with the Zhang rematch, given how close it initially was. During the first part of the fight, Zhang was the dominant fighter, knocking Parker down. But Joseph made the adjustments to outbox the Chinese heavyweight.
Parker’s Options
There is also the opportunity to run things back with Anthony Joshua. Parker lost to Joshua in 2018, losing his WBO Heavyweight Title. He managed to take Joshua the distance as he stayed with the former unified heavyweight champion. Joshua is coming off a knockout loss against Dubois, getting dropped four times as he was stopped in the fifth round. That means Joshua may be the perfect opponent for Parker since he is coming off a loss.
There is also the alternative to target other heavyweight fights. Parker has even been linked with a fight against Tyson Fury. They are stable mates, as the Gypsy King has said he would not fight him. But if the terms were right, then the fight could happen. Fury boxed Chisora three times, and they are close friends.
“It’s not as if he’s calling Fury out but he’s open to a fight with Fury – the year before that they were best mates and that was never going to happen. I quite like that. He’s done it before with his mates – look at what happened with Derek [Chisora]. Yeah, stranger things have happened…It’s business, money talks,” Carl Frampton said
Parker vs. Dubois
Elsewhere, Parker could continue to face the other top heavyweights in the division. He could box Filip Hrgovic, who is coming off a loss against Dubois. There is also the opportunity to run things back against Joe Joyce. Joyce stopped Parker in the 11th round, which capped off a memorable bout. However, Joyce is no longer the same fighter following his consecutive losses against Zhang. Joyce also suffered an upset defeat against Derek Chisora in his last bout. However, Lee felt that Dubois was the leading opponent because he wanted a title shot. Meanwhile, Parker’s promoter, David Higgins, also wants that fight.
“Whenever, anywhere, anytime. Joseph would love to fight Daniel Dubois next, he’s chomping at the bit. Joseph is ready to fight anyone but if he was given the opportunity to fight Daniel Dubois, he’d grab it with both hands and he would back himself to win.I think besides Fury vs Usyk II, Parker vs Dubois I think – in the heavyweights – will be the best fighting the best,” Higgins stated
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