Former WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker has firmly thrown his hat into the ring as far as being IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois’ next challenger. Parker, who has been on a great run since losing to Joe Joyce back in September of 2022, with Parker winning five on the bounce, included here wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, says he is “looking for my next victim.” And Dubois could be it.
Speaking with The New Zealand Herald, Parker, 35-3(23) said he has “earned” a shot at becoming a two-time champion. Dubois, 22-2(21) will be fighting in February, so says his promoter Frank Warren, and it will not be a rematch with Anthony Joshua. A suitable contender is now needed, and Parker feels it should be him who gets the call.
“I feel like I’ve earned it,” Parker said of a shot at Dubois. “Dubois is in form as well. He’s more confident than we’ve ever seen. He’s coming out of his shell. If Dubois wants a dance partner – turn on the lights and I could be that dance partner for him. I don’t know what they have planned for him, but if he wants to fight, I’m here to look for my next victim.”
Parker certainly has the necessary credentials as far as him being worthy of challenging Dubois, and it’s likely plenty of fans would see this fight as close to a 50-50 affair if it happened. Parker might be in his prime now at age 32, and we know he has no qualms about travelling to the UK to fight.
Interestingly, former champ turned pundit Tony Bellew said recently that if Parker and Dubois did fight, it could be “Ike Ibeabuchi Vs. David Tua all over again.”
“They would throw that many punches between the two of them. It would be an absolute slugfest,” Bellew said.
If we ever got a fight as special as the absolute epic Ibeabuchi and Tua gave us back in 1997, we fans would be very lucky indeed. Is Bellew right, though, would a fight between Dubois and Parker make for a great one?
It shouldn’t be too long before Dubois’ February challenger is officially named. Parker is right there in the running, along with a few other names. Warren has said he hopes to get something nailed down soon.
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