Daniel Dubois knows that he has a real fight on his hands.
Becoming a world champion meant everything to him. But instead of milking said title with a tenuous defense, Dubois decided to take on Joseph Parker.
Only a few weeks remain before they officially get it on but Dubois believes he’s more than ready. Part of that stems from his preparation. But, in large part, the run he’s been on has him feeling as confident as ever.
Although wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic pushed him up The Ring’s rankings, grabbing a victory against Anthony Joshua left many believing that he’s the real deal.
Expected to lose, Dubois made it look incredibly easy against the former unified champ, stopping him in the fifth round. Parker, at least on paper, might be a stiffer test according to some but Dubois simply doesn’t believe that’s true.
“No,” said Dubois to Carl Frampton during a face-to-face with Parker when asked if Parker will be a tougher fight than Joshua. “I don’t think so.”
Dubois (22-1, 21 KOs) isn’t the only heavyweight riding an incredible wave at the moment. Parker has been scorching hot lately. Since suffering his first knockout loss against Joe Joyce in 2022, the former heavyweight champ reeled off five wins in a row.
Putting together five consecutive victories was impressive enough but doing so at the expense of Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang has turned heads.
With everything clicking, Parker is convinced that he’s never been better. The goal for him is obvious. Beat Dubois convincingly and attempt to become an undisputed champion by knocking off Ring, WBA, WBC, and WBO champion, Oleksandr Usyk.
Everything that Parker has accomplished is cute but that doesn’t make him dangerous according to Parker. Has his run been impressive? It has. But will it help him on February 22nd? Dubois doesn’t believe so.
“He’s been on form but I think I’ll go through him.”