Nick Peet: Dubois vs Parker Preview

THE greatest boxing card of a generation, conceivably of all time, goes down in Saudi Arabia on Saturday with a series of remarkably well-matched bouts, capped by a light-heavyweight rematch between two pound-for-pound stars.

Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol are the best 175lb boxers on the planet, they proved that back in October when the two unbeaten Russian’s went the full 12 rounds and still never settled the debate of who is best.

Once more, with every belt worth lifting at stake in Riyadh, they will fight to finally claim superiority over one another.

Yet, despite now having 12 rounds of data, my stance on the outcome hasn’t changed from my prediction of four months ago.

The level of Bivol’s performance blew me away first time around, he was outstanding.

But I always favoured Beterbiev and, despite needing the judges for the first time in his skull-cracking career, I don’t see his points victory being reversed this weekend.

BRAND NEW HEAVIES

Perhaps the more challenging fight to predict is the chief-support; the world heavyweight title match-up between London’s Daniel Dubois and Kiwi Joseph Parker.

Admittedly, Dubois is another favourite of mine. I was certainly in the minority when I picked him to KO Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September.

But he had AJ on the canvas in practically every round before eventually wiping him out in the fifth and closing a chapter on British boxing in the process.

Since, the 27-year-old has absolutely grown in vitality and confidence. So much so, he’s been calling out the true heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk for a rematch.

But first he has the perilous proposition of defending against the division’s renaissance man.

IT'S FIGHT WEEK! 🔥

🥊Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol🥊Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker🥊Shakur Stevenson vs Floyd Schofield🥊Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz🥊Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs Israil Madrimov🥊Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel🥊Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith #DuboisParker x… pic.twitter.com/Is8KZBsh4F

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) February 17, 2025

Parker, 33, was a world champion himself before running into the legacy-building version of Joshua in 2018.

In the time since he’s suffered his share of ups and downs, but a hook up with emerging Irish trainer Andy Lee has brought with it a new level of professionalism – and success.

In his last two fights Parker has navigated two of the most formidable punchers and most avoided men in the division; Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.

There is a feeling 35-3 Parker is peaking and has timed his second heavyweight title tilt perfectly, especially with the new young champion clearly looking past him.

But likewise, Dubois is transformed from the fighter he was just a few years ago.

DYNAMITE

During his 22-2 campaign to the top Daniel has learnt precisely who he is, and it’s both violent and destructive.

He’s big, he’s fast, works off a tremendous jab and hits like a train. He’s also as fit as any man can be standing six-foot-five and weighing 250lb.

Dubois is so much faster than Zhang and has a way higher output than Wilder. To beat him, Parker is going to need to find a level of performance he’s not produced in a ring before.

Joe must press forward, fight fire with fire to an extent, but he cannot allow Dubois to use him as a punch bag either. Intelligent, busy pressure with one goal: get Dubois into deep waters.

The challenger has to be perfect for 36 minutes. If he’s not, Dubois will catch him, hurt him and devour him, just like he did to Joshua.

And that’s the difference for me. Taking out AJ in the manner he did, Dubois’ self-belief will ensure he makes another statement to support his claims for second crack at the one true king.

TIP: Dubois by Knockout (Boosted to 5/4)

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