The next fight for Daniel Dubois depends wholly on whether Anthony Joshua wants to avenge the destructive knockout loss he suffered this past weekend.
Contrary to initial reports, there is no contractual rematch clause, according to boxing reporter Dan Rafael. However, a second Dubois-Joshua fight would be the most lucrative option available for the IBF titleholder.
If that doesn’t happen, there are many other notable heavyweights available. One name in particular stands out to Tony Bellew, a former cruiserweight titleholder who now provides boxing commentary.
“That’s Joseph Parker,” Bellew said in an interview with Liam Solomon of Instant Casino. “Nobody in the heavyweight division has taken the people on that Joseph Parker has. Nobody. Joseph Parker has faced two boogeymen who no one wants to go near, back-to-back. He fought Deontay Wilder and literally beat him up. And then he went in with Zhilei Zhang against all the doubters. Listen, I thought he’d lose twice.”
Parker was once a heavyweight titleholder himself, picking up the vacant WBO belt in 2016 with a majority decision win over Andy Ruiz. Parker won defenses over Razvan Cojanu and Hughie Fury before losing a unification bout against Joshua in March 2018. Next came a second defeat, four months later against Dillian Whyte.
Parker then put together six consecutive victories, only to see his momentum brought to a halt in an 11th-round knockout loss to Joe Joyce in 2022. Since then, however, Parker has been on a very good run. He has notched five straight wins and taken full advantage of the opportunities afforded by so many heavyweight bouts being featured on Riyadh Season cards. Parker won a unanimous decision over Wilder in December 2023 and a majority decision over Zhang in June, bringing the 32-year-old New Zealander to 35-3 (23 KOs).
“For Joseph Parker, he deserves that date with destiny,” Bellew said. “I’ve written off Joseph Parker in his last two fights, and I’ve written Daniel Dubois off in his last two fights. It’s the battle of the write-offs! I don’t know which way to go, but what I will say is Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker would make for an amazing fight. This 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.”
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
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