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Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker - The unlikely heavyweight title clash that did not surprise Frank Warren
Search outside the inner circles of both teams representing Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker at the end of 2022, and you may struggle to locate anyone who thought these two men would be vying for boxing’s greatest prize later this month.
Parker had withstood the many assaults of Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte, and Andy Ruiz before taking on Joyce, and although relatively young when assessing heavyweights, the likeable New Zealander was into the eleventh year of a gruelling career.
Three months after that Joyce masterclass, Dubois, a victim of Joyce during the empty venue days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, was up against Kevin Lerena as he continued to push forward despite the loss to Joyce hanging over him like a threatening raincloud.
The London heavyweight would rally and secure victory later in the fight. But just like against Joyce two years earlier, question marks remained over Dubois’ durability.
(Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Redemption is never too far away for a stricken heavyweight. In a division where one punch can either ruin dreams or make them, the chance is often provided to correct wrongs from previous fights leaving it up to the boxer to grab such an opportunity.
Both Dubois and Parker have collected theirs.
“I always genuinely felt that Daniel would win a world title,” said Warren when speaking exclusively to DAZN News.
“I always had faith in him, there was a lot of terrible stuff out there that people were saying about him, but he was a kid. That fight against Joe Joyce he had a terrible injury and had he carried on, he would've lost his sight and that would've been the end of his career.”
Although struggling with the movement and accuracy of the mercurial Ukrainian, Dubois was getting close with some shots and when one landed low or on target, depending on whose interpretation you listen to, Usyk was troubled.
The referee, the ultimate judge in this moment, decided the punch had landed illegally and as Usyk rolled around in pain on the canvas, he was given several minutes to recover before once again claiming ascendancy and securing another title defence.
“That was the making of him,” revealed Warren, reflecting on how the Usyk setback made Dubois a stronger fighter.
“We sat down after that fight and I said to him, ‘You beat yourself. You allowed that referee to get into your head.’ You let these be your referee [puts fists up] and that was the making of him."
Parker rehabilitates among the heavy artillery
Alongside Dubois’s incredible rehabilitation, which included stoppage wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua, Parker was also plotting a miraculous comeback.
Unable to withstand the frequent attacks from Joyce, how would Parker deal with Deontay Wilder, the division's biggest puncher, who had been able to stop or floor every opponent he had ever faced.
Wilder had his eyes firmly fixed on Joshua, and with new money flooding into boxing due to the lofty ambitions of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Joshua and Wilder was next, unless Parker had other ideas.
Producing arguably the performance of his career, Parker did not put a step wrong as he nullified Wilder from the opening bell and refused to take his foot off the pedal. Even momentarily buzzing Wilder, Parker appeared to be the aggressor throughout and his dominance was reflected on the scorecards.
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The big wins would keep coming and after resisting the heavy artillery of Wilder, he did not have the same luck against Zhang as he was floored twice. Parker’s better work in the remainder of the contest saw him claim victory and with it, he was once again operating amongst contenders and champions who just a year previously had seemed well out of reach.
Outlasting a host of fighters who had all at one point ruined Parker’s world title dreams, the 33-year-old is on the verge of looking down on all of them.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
“Joe Parker, look what happened there,” added Warren.
“Joe Joyce was on top of the world, and no one wanted to fight him and now that’s reversed around, but that’s just heavyweight boxing. You’ve got to stay with your guys sometimes.
“Joe’s in a great position now, and him and Daniel is a cracking fight. That’s a really good quality heavyweight fight.”
In the eyes of many, February 22 in Saudi Arabia was not intended to star Dubois and Parker, as more lucrative plans were surely scheduled for some of the division’s more recognisable names.
Joshua vs Fury, Joshua vs Wilder, Fury vs Usyk 3, were very much the proposed battles when the heavyweight pieces were being moved around the board in recent years.
Dubois and Parker had other ideas and by brutally flipping those aforementioned pieces off the table, the deserving pair have forged their own path to the summit of boxing’s most gloried division.
Dubois vs Parker may not have been the heavyweight title people envisaged two years ago, perhaps not even 12 months ago, but the spotlight will shine brightly on them later this month and each man is more than worthy of occupying that stage they will both perform on.
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