Joseph Parker Rates Dubois’s Chances in Usyk Rematch

The WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker shared his expectations for the upcoming rematch between Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk and Britain’s Daniel Dubois.

“Dubois has a good jab. He’s young, hungry for wins, a world champion. And with every fight — with Miller, Hrgović, Joshua — you can see his progress. He’s starting to believe in himself more. If he can carry that into this fight…

I think he needs to work on the mental side. Physically he’s in great shape: lean, strong, powerful puncher. But up here, (Parker tapped his head) that’s the most important part.

It looks like he’s working on it. The question is: if things get really tough again, like in the first fight, will he hold up or break? He’s already proven everything else — there’s a reason he’s a world champion.

Those fights with Fury may have taken a lot out of Usyk. But listening to him, the way he talks, he approaches training very wisely. I used to destroy my body, push it to the limit; today’s fighters are more mature — more control, more planning.

Even at 38 he takes excellent care of himself… We’ll soon see how it plays out.

I see Daniel coming out fast, trying to break him, put pressure on from the start, but in the end Usyk’s technique, skill, and footwork will tell and he’ll break him down.

If Dubois doesn’t apply hard pressure in the first half of the fight — if he can’t settle it early — then Usyk will close the show in the second half,” said Parker.

Reminder: Oleksandr Usyk (23‑0, 14 KOs) faces Daniel Dubois (22‑2, 21 KOs) for the undisputed heavyweight crown on 19 July at Wembley Stadium in London. Detailed analytics and full fight statistics are available at the link.

Photo: The Independent