Joseph Parker was impressed with Daniel Dubois' performance in stopping previously unbeaten Filip Hrgovic to win the IBF interim heavyweight title last Saturday night in Riyadh.
Parker believes Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) is the underdog if he faces Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium next September and will need to put in a much better fight to beat the two-time former heavyweight champion.
If Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) can't handle Dubois' punching power, he may not need to fight better. The punches that the 26-year-old used to out-punch Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KOs) and score a technical knockout in the eighth round may be enough to defeat Joshua.
Joshua has faced opponents with less punching power than Dubois and has been injured multiple times, and it's fair to say he would have been knocked out had promoter Eddie Hearn not been more careful with his opponents.
Parker correctly points out that Dubois was the underdog against Joshua because he doesn't have the experience to warrant oddsmakers naming him the favorite to win, but Dubois was the underdog against the 31-year-old Hrgovic and we saw how that fight ended.
At 34, Joshua is not young and, although he has been in good form recently, he has fared better against the four successive cans of tomatoes that promoter Eddie Hearn has given him to try and rehabilitate his career.
Dubois's weakness against Joshua
“For me, Daniel Dubois was the biggest surprise. Going into the match I thought Hrgovic had the advantage and yes he started very strong but Dubois was very consistent, put the pressure on him and won in the end. I think it was one of the biggest wins of his career,” Joseph Parker told Second Sout, offering his view on who was the biggest surprise at last Saturday's 5-on-5 event in Riyadh.
“I think Dubois would be the underdog if they were to clash at Wembley Stadium in September,” Parker says, adding that Dubois would be the underdog if he were to face Anthony Joshua in September. “He moved very well against Hrgovic but Joshua has the edge in that fight.”
“He is [Dubois] I can take on bigger and better challenges. I think I need more focus, more variety in my punches, more movement, more variety in my punches.
“Joshua is a beast. Joshua has been good in his last two fights. I think Dubois is going to have to perform a lot better than he did against Hrgovic,” Parker said.
