Daniel Dubois’s latest world title defence against Joseph Parker is fast approaching and Teddy Atlas has a view on how it might play out.
There has been plenty of change in the heavyweight division in recent years. For a long time, it was Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder who held all the belts.
However, the arrival of Oleksandr Usyk in the division has shaken things up with the Ukrainian beating both Joshua and Fury twice to dethrone them and free up the belts.
He is in possession of three of them, with Dubois picking up the fourth after being elevated to champion following his win over Fillip Hrgovic. He then defended it against Joshua with an impressive fifth-round knockout and now it is Parker who will be in the opposite corner come Saturday night in Saudi Arabia.
He too is full of confidence having beaten Wilder and Zhilei Zhang in his last two contests.
Former trainer turned pundit Atlas has spoken on his own YouTube channel about the importance of the mental aspect of this fight, backing Dubois to win due to growth in that area.
“The reason why I’m picking Dubois, the mental side. 75% of this, I always say it, Dubois is a different man. Dubois has gone through a metamorphosis, he’s a butterfly. He’s a different guy.
“If he fought Usyk again that’s a different fight too. That’s a much more dangerous fight now because of the change Dubois has gone through, where he’s found himself and is mentally a tougher guy now, he believes in himself. That, when you mix it with power and ability and size, that is a dangerous combination.”
Parker too has shown mental strength after surviving two knockdowns against Zhang, which is what makes this such a hotly anticipated fight.
