Joseph Parker has warned Daniel Dubois that if he doesn’t hurt Oleksandr Usyk in the opening rounds on Saturday he risks again being stopped.
Usyk and Dubois fight for the second time, at Wembley Stadium for the undisputed heavyweight title, little under two years after they first contested the titles of the IBF, WBA and WBO.
Since stopping Dubois in nine rounds and then proceeding to twice defeat Tyson Fury, Usyk has watched Dubois record successive career-best victories when stopping first Jarrell Miller, then Filip Hrgovic, and then Anthony Joshua.
Dubois, 27, has also since earned the IBF title inexplicably stripped from Usyk when he prioritised a rematch with Fury, and agreed to defend it against Parker in February until, mid-fight week, illness ruled him out.
Parker, the mandatory challenger to the WBO title, is in London for Saturday’s contest and on course to fight the winner.
Despite those close to Dubois suggesting otherwise he doesn’t believe that Usyk’s 38 years are on course to catch up with him. He even ultimately described a confrontation with the Ukrainian as his “dream” fight.
“[Dubois has] got a good jab,” he told BoxingScene. “He’s young; he’s hungry; he’s a champion of the world, and each fight that he’s been having, with Miller, Hrgovic and Joshua, you could see the improvements. He just backs himself more. If he can bring that into this fight…
“I think he needs to work more on his mental side. Physically he’s in great shape. He’s fit and he’s strong and punches with a lot of power. But [Parker pointed to his head] up here’s the most important part.
“I think he’s working on it. The question will be if it does get very hard [like in the first fight], is that going to break down, or can he push through? Everything else – he’s definitely shown that he’s a champion of the world for a reason.”
Since their first fight, in Wroclaw, Poland, Usyk has recorded career-best victories over Fury, but both were particularly competitive and against a considerably bigger man, and Parker said: “They could have taken a lot out of him. But with Usyk, listening to him and talking to him, he’s very smart in the way that he operates in terms of training. Back in the day I used to smash my body and be very tired, whereas fighters now are a lot more mature; controlled; more programmed.
“With him, even though he’s 38 years old, I think the way he’s been able to look after his body… We’ll soon find out.
“I see Daniel being very active at the beginning, trying to break him down and chase him down, but ultimately Usyk will be too much in terms of technique and skill, and footwork, and he’s going to break him down.
“The first half of the fight, if Daniel doesn’t put on the pressure and chase Usyk down – if he doesn’t get it done in the first half of the fight, I think Usyk will take care of it in the second half.
“Usyk is my dream fight. I’d love to test myself against someone like Usyk.
“I think he will fight again. I think the fights he wants are the big money fights. He’s achieved a lot as a fighter. I’d love to get myself against him.”
