Joseph Parker will aim to become a two-time world heavyweight champion when he faces Daniel Dubois on February 22nd.
Meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Parker will look to extend his good form into Saturday night as he is coming off of five straight wins.
Most recently, Parker was able to survive two brutal knockdowns from Zhilei Zhang in March 2024 to win a majority decision, setting up his battle with Dubois.
Parker described the Zhang win as one of the best of his career to date.
Only three men have gotten the better of Parker as his record currently stands at 35-3. Among those losses is one fight that changed his life.
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Joseph Parker names his most recent loss as the one that changed his life
Since losing back-to-back fights against Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, Parker has undergone somewhat of a career resurgence. Since the losses, Parker is 11-1 in his last 12 fights, with that one loss changing a lot about the New Zealander.
In an interview with the Ring Magazine, Parker was asked what losses in his career had the biggest impact on him in terms of learning and growth. Parker answered by saying, “It would probably be the recent one, the Joe Joyce loss.”
Parker fought Joyce in September of 2022, losing via 11th round knockout.
“That one changed a lot about how I approach fights now, scheduling, programming, training, balance in life.”
Parker would go on to say that despite losing the fight by knockout, he returned to training camp two weeks after the bout.
The former champion would say that he felt his next fight following the Joyce loss was a “horrible performance”, but was able to make further changes following his win over Jack Massey.
The changes included hiring George Lockhart, a nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach who has been with Parker ever since. The New Zealander said that the hire helped things come together with coach Andy Lee, who also remains a part of Parker’s team.
Since the Massey fight, Parker has won his last four, including wins over Zhang and Deontay Wilder.
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Joseph Parker to come in at career-heaviest versus Daniel Dubois
Parker’s coach Lee has revealed to Sky Sports that his fighter will hit the scale heavier than ever before ahead of the Dubois fight.
“He will be heavy, probably a career-heaviest,” said Lee.
“It hasn’t affected his hand speed and his mobility. He’s certainly punching harder, I can feel it on the pads.”
The heaviest Parker has ever weighed in at for a professional fight to this point in his career is 255.25 lbs. This was his weight when he fought Joyce in 2022.
Parker has been predicted to lose by Carl Froch, however, the New Zealander will aim to become a world champion for the second time on Saturday night.