Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker have come face to face for the first time ahead of their fight.
‘DDD’ defended his IBF heavyweight title by knocking out Anthony Joshua in September.
Joseph Parker, who previously held the WBO heavyweight belt, has catapulted himself back into the mix by recording back-to-back wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.
Now he’s set to face Daniel Dubois in Saudi Arabia on February 22. The heavyweight championship clash will co-headline a card also featuring an eagerly anticipated undisputed rematch between light heavyweight standouts Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Daniel Dubois meets next opponent Joseph Parker
Daniel Dubois recently bumped into his next opponent while in the Middle East.
Both men are currently in Saudi Arabia to watch Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2, which is set to take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday night.
Cameras caught the moment Parker interrupted an interview his rival was conducting.
The two men bumped fists and embraced as they kept things friendly before they try to knock lumps out of each other in a couple of months time.
It got a bit awkward when Parker extended his hand to shake and Dubois responded by insisting on another fist bump.
Dubois and Parker made small talk about their respective journeys to the new home of big-time boxing.
One more fist bump and they parted ways to continue their respective fight camps. Soon after, Parker shared footage of the encounter to Instagram, with the caption: “Great to see my next dance partner @dynamite_daniel_dubois here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 #furyvsusyk.”
Daniel Dubois is on a scouting mission
Daniel Dubois is already looking beyond his upcoming fight with Joseph Parker.
The 27-year-old hopes he’ll get the chance to face the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury II in 2025.
“I’m out here in Saudi and I want the winner on Saturday,” Dubois told talkSPORT on Thursday.
“I want the winner, I want to fight for the undisputed.
“That is what the aim is now, that is the goal. 100 percent [I would beat them].
“This is my time now, I have been through the ups and downs but I’m a new man.
“I am a man of the future and I’m ready to fight for the undisputed and win and go down in boxing history.”
Dubois suffered a ninth-round knockout defeat when he fought Usyk in August 2023. But he’s extremely confident he will get revenge in a rematch if the undefeated Ukrainian beats Fury again this weekend.
“Much different, I’m leagues and leagues above that guy,” Dubois replied when asked if he was a different guy from the one who lost to Usyk.
“I have evolved and I have learned from those mistakes.
“My team has got it right and I’m firing on all cylinders now so let’s go!”