Joseph Parker gets another world title boxing shot, to fight Daniel Dubois in Saudi Arabia

Wednesday, 4 December 2024

For Joseph Parker, the waiting game is finally over, and the preparation can begin. The Kiwi heavyweight has been handed a massive world title shot against IBF champ Daniel Dubois in February that has the potential to define his career.

Parker was confirmed on Tuesday to face the highly rated British heavyweight on the power-packed undercard of the Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol clash for the undisputed world light heavyweight championship on February 22 in Saudi Arabia under the Riyadh Season banner.

It’s a huge, if daunting, opportunity for the 32-year-old Kiwi heavyweight who has been building towards this moment during an impressive five-fight win streak that followed just the third defeat of his career, when he was stopped by Brit Joe Joyce in September of 2022.

Joseph Parker will step back into the ring in Riyadh in February for a heavyweight title shot against Brit Daniel Dubois.

The former WBO world champion has been making a strong case for another title shot with a series of notable victories, headlined by his upset of dangerous ex-WBC champion Deontay Wilder last year and then, in his most recent fight in March, earning a majority decision, after being knocked down twice, over towering Chinese fighter Zhilei Zhang to claim the WBO Interim title.

Parker’s career stalled somewhat when he was outpointed by Anthony Joshua in a unification fight in Cardiff in 2018, and then dropped a controversial decision four months later against Dillian Whyte in London.

But the Kiwi heavyweight, now working under the guidance of head trainer Andy Lee, and being shaped by nutritionist and strength and conditioning man George Lockhart, believes he is a different fighter than previously in his career as he has packed on the bulk to add much-needed punching power.

“I feel great in terms of fitness, muscles and what I’m doing in training and I put it down to the work I’ve been doing with George Lockhart,” Parker told The Post earlier this year. “He’s the key change I’ve made in the last year. Andy Lee has always been great in terms of boxing training, but George looks after everything else – recovery, strength and conditioning, nutrition, cooking … he is the man.”

The Kiwi recently reaffirmed that confidence in his armoury when he told TalkSport Boxing he was ready to take on Dubois.

“I have been very vocal about wanting to fight Daniel Dubois,” Parker told the British show. “He looked great in the [Jarrell] Miller fight, the [Filip] Hrgovic fight, and he looked good against Joshua, getting that devastating knockout. But the difference with me is I’m fresh, I’m hungry and I’m ready to go. I’ve been waiting since March for a big fight.”

Parker also spoke about the belief he was a different fighter after his recent work under Lockhart and Lee.

“I’ve been building. The shape I’m going to be in is going to be next level,” he added. “I need that power, and that’s what Ive been working on. I need to knock some people out, and I need to be more exciting.”

Joseph Parker is confident his work with trainer and nutritionist George Lockhart has him in ideal shape to step back into the ring in February.

It’s likely Parker will need all the power he can manage against the quality 27-year-old Londoner who has risen fast through the heavyweight ranks.

Dubois won the IBF's Interim title when he beat Hrgovic in June (with that status upgraded when Oleksandr Usyk vacated that belt), and well and truly established his championship credentials with that dominant knockout victory over Joshua inside five rounds at Wembley in September.

Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) hasn't fought for a fully fledged world title since his defeat to Joshua, but has been trending in the right direction since uniting with Lee.

Dubois, with his 22-2 record, his world title belt and with his only defeats to Joyce (in 2020) and Usyk (last year), looks just the opponent the Kiwi has been craving. February cannot come quickly enough.