Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has backed New Zealander Joseph Parker to beat Daniel Dubois in their IBF world title fight in Saudi Arabia next month.
Joshua, stopped by fellow Englishman Dubois in his most recent fight in a performance which earned Dubois the “knockout of the year” trophy at a glitzy The Ring Magazine award evening in London at the weekend, is one of a growing number in boxing who believe Parker will become a two-time world champion on February 23.
Joshua has expressed his respect for Parker since taking the WBO world title off him in Cardiff in 2018, a feeling that has grown since the Kiwi beat Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang in two upsets in Riyadh last year.
Professional boxing's current ringmaster Turki Al-Sheikh said recently in a social media post that he believes Dubois will retain his title but in the same post Joshua begged to differ.
Joshua, beaten twice by Oleksandr Usyk – currently considered the best heavyweight in the world, if not the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing – and Dubois, values resilience above all else and it’s here that Parker has shone, winning five fights in a row after a devastating knockout loss to Joe Joyce in 2022.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn thinks similarly, telling YouTube channel Sportsman Boxing: “I think it’s a very tough fight for Daniel Dubois.
“Joseph is in the form of his career. I’m his unofficial promoter. He’s a good mate of mine. I really like him, he’s worked so hard to get back in this position.”
After Parker bumped into Dubois in Riyadh just before Christmas when the pair attended the Usyk v Tyson Fury rematch, won by Usyk, almost all the heavyweight protagonists, and others, gathered in London for the recent The Ring Magazine awards, which have been given a new lease of life thanks to a large input of Saudi money.
And Parker’s trainer Andy Lee, nominated for the trainer of the year award, believes the omens are good for Parker to collect another high-profile scalp.
Dubois made something of a spectacle of himself when entering the ring after Usyk’s unanimous decision victory over Fury and called Usyk out while the Ukrainian was being interviewed, an indication that Dubois and his team are overlooking the threat a rejuvenated Parker represents.
“It’s good,” Lee told The Stomping Ground. “They’re making the same mistake they always make. When [Parker] fought Wilder, it was ‘Wilder v AJ’ and he overturned them. When [Parker] beat Zhang it was supposed to be ‘Wilder v Zhang’ but he overturned him.
“They’re making the same mistake they make every time. It’s great for us. This man is going to upset the apple cart again.”
Dubois of course has denied he is overlooking Parker, who recently celebrated his 33rd birthday.
“First things first is Parker,” Dubois told Sky Sports. “All eyes on him.”
Dubois has enjoyed something of a renaissance himself, recently.
He, too, lost badly to Joyce – he was stopped by him in part due to a fractured eye socket in 2020 – and also lost in controversial circumstances to Usyk during a bout in Poland in 2023 when a knock down against Usyk was ruled out due to the referee’s ruling of a low blow.
Since then, Dubois beat American Jarrell Miller, stopped dangerous Croatian Filip Hrgovic and then destroyed Joshua at Wembley in September last year, an astonishing fight during which Joshua was dropped four times, the final time in devastating fashion in the fifth round.
Dubois possesses immense power but lacks Parker’s hand speed, reflexes and footwork.
The Kiwi, who won the WBO world title in 2016 when beating Andy Ruiz Jr in Auckland, is currently hard at work at his camp in Dublin with Lee and is supremely confident.
“We’ll come up with a game plan and when I go out there and execute to the best of my ability it’s going to be a fantastic night for us,” Parker said.
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