Daniel Dubois versus Joseph Parker is fast approaching and now Tony Bellew has made his prediction.
These two heavyweights are both in great form right now. Parker has beaten Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder in his last two outings, while Dubois has knocked out Jarrell Miller, and Fillip Hrgovic – after which he was elevated to full IBF champion – and then he stopped Anthony Joshua back in September.
Speaking to Sporting Talk, Bellew laid out how Parker can be victorious when the pair meet on February 22.
“I think Joe Parker comes out and sticks a hard jab on him, lands a few hard shots early doors, he takes over the fight and wins at a canter.”
He then sounded a note of caution.
“But if he allows Daniel Dubois to build any kind of confidence and get on top of him he’s had it. He’s a strong boy Daniel Dubois but he’s very tunnel visioned. He sees straight ahead and goes for you and he’s all in.”
However, he also noted there are drawbacks to Dubois’ style which have been evident in his losses against Oleksandr Usyk and Joe Joyce.
“When you don’t see everything around you it limits you to what you can do. And that’s why I think when it gets hard for Daniel he doesn’t know how to adapt, what to do.
“He doesn’t know how to move out of danger, he just panics, he gets hurt and he goes ‘I’ve had enough’. That can happen again, so Joe Parker has to set about him and get at him from the get-go. He cannot allow Dubois to get confident in any way shape or form.”
