Joseph Parker looks to cause a seismic shift to the heavyweight landscape when he collides with IBF titlist Daniel Dubois on February 22.
The pair will square off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, appearing on a stacked card headlined by Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s undisputed light heavyweight rematch.
Ahead of their encounter, Daniel Dubois is widely considered to be a marginal favorite, given that he is coming off an emphatic display against Anthony Joshua.
But Joseph Parker, too, will enter their bout with a tremendous degree of momentum behind him, after scoring back-to-back victories over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.
Joseph Parker gives honest verdict on potential Tyson Fury clash
The resurgence of Parker has been truly remarkable when considering that, not too long ago, many felt as though his prime years were slowly dwindling.
Back in 2016, the New Zealander claimed his WBO strap after edging a highly contentious split decision against Andy Ruiz Jr.
But then, after suffering defeats to Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018 – before losing to Joe Joyce around four years later – Parker was forced to reassess his options.
When his good friend, Tyson Fury, introduced him to former world champion and esteemed trainer Andy Lee, though, the top contender’s career was swiftly put back on an upwards trajectory.
But despite his relationship with Fury, Parker has not ruled out a potential undisputed showdown after the Dubois fight, believing that Oleksandr Usyk will lose their rematch on December 21.
“I’ve always said I never want to fight Tyson – he’s like a brother to me, and he’s done so much for me and my career,” Parker told FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA.
“But then again, I’ll say never say never. I wanna be the best in the world; I wanna be the undisputed, unified champion of the world.
“[Fury and I] can sit down and have a brotherly talk, and say, ‘hey man, how you doing?’ You just never know what’s going to happen in the sport of boxing.”
Is there a rematch clause for Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker?
Parker’s long-term manager, David Higgins, has told The New Zealand Herald that there is, in fact, a rematch clause for his fight against Dubois.
With the 32-year-old being a voluntary challenger – as opposed to a mandatory challenger – he will be expected to enter a second encounter with ‘Dynamite’ should he emerge victorious.
Dubois, too, will have his hands full if he secures the win, with IBF number-one contender Martin Bakole waiting in the wings for his opportunity.
And so, regardless of the result, it is highly unlikely that either combatant will face the winner of Usyk vs. Fury 2 after their showdown.