Daniel Dubois gets ready to defend his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker on February 22 in Saudi Arabia. The fight is part of a big boxing event featuring several high-profile matches.
Dubois won the title in September when he stopped Anthony Joshua in five rounds. Now he's set for his second straight defense. Parker, a former WBO heavyweight champion from 2016 to 2018, wants to become a two-time world champion. He's coming off wins against Zhang and a surprise victory over Deontay Wilder.
Tony Bellew, a former world champion turned pundit, thinks Parker will win. He told DAZN:
"If Joseph Parker comes through the first four rounds, he wins. Daniel is a bully. Daniel is a fighter who gains in confidence. If you take his confidence away early, he's not going to be very good. But if he gets confident, and you allow him to win rounds one to three, he's going to keep going."
Bellew believes Parker needs a solid game plan to keep Dubois off him in the early rounds. He added:
"I edge towards Parker on points, or maybe even a late stoppage. I think if you can make Daniel question himself up here, he'll quit. Once you quit once, you'll do it again. You've just got to get them back to that place."
Dubois faced questions about his grit after his world title attempt against Oleksandr Usyk. He went down in the eighth and ninth rounds and stayed on his knee as the referee counted him out. Many felt he had enough to keep fighting.
The winner of this fight could get a shot at undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the other three belts in the division.
The February 22 event in Saudi Arabia also features a light heavyweight rematch between Dmitry Bivol and undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev. Another heavyweight clash between Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel is on the card too.
