Anthony Joshua has faced both Joseph Parker and Daniel Dubois, and now he has given his prediction for the world title fight should it go ahead.
Parker – who lost to Joshua on points back in 2018 – was all set to challenge for the IBF belt this weekend before Dubois – who defended the title against ‘AJ’ last September with an emphatic KO – pulled out unwell.
Speaking to Box Nation, ‘AJ’ tentatively backed Dubois whilst simultaneously praising Parker’s quick finish.
“[Parker has a] great chance. He’s a phenomenal fighter. So is Dubois. Dubois had to show a little bit more with Hrgovic, he had to dig deep, his fight with Miller, he had to dig deep. His fight with me he kind of like announced himself as the heavyweight slayer, as he called himself. He’s just edging it.
“Look at Parker today, he’s just gone in and knocked out Bakole. I’ve seen [toughness] from Dubois. With Parker, it would’ve been nice to se a bit more to see what his engine’s like in the later rounds and how much grit he’s got. But he went in and done what we all want as heavyweights and he knocked him out.
“From what I’ve seen, I’m going to go with Dubois due to the face he’s had to dis a little deeper. Why I say it is I think the fight’s gonna be a 50/50 fight between the two. Let’s see what happens.”
Whether or not the fight will be rescheduled remains to be seen, though most in the sport will feel the New Zealander absolutely deserves that to be the case. The carrot of an undisputed bout against Usyk, who has said he wants it next, may be too much for Dubois’ team to pass up.
