Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker is at risk of collapsing on two days’ notice, after the heavyweight champion fell ill.
Dubois is due to defend the IBF title against Parker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday (22 February), but organisers are seeking a possible replacement for the Briton, in case he is unable to fight.
Dubois’s promoter Frank Warren said at a press conference on Thursday: “Unfortunately, at this moment in time, Daniel is being evaluated by a doctor. When we have more news, we will share it with you and update you.”
On Parker’s side, Spencer Brown said: “Whatever it’s gonna be, Joe’s there, there will be a fight Saturday. Whoever’s there, Joe’s ready to fight, he’s ready to go, he’s ready to win. That’s it. Whoever we’re gonna fight Saturday, Joe’s up for it. He doesn’t care, he’s one of them fighters: he’ll fight anybody.”
New Zealand’s Parker added: “If he is ill, I hope he gets better soon, and I’m looking forward to Saturday and putting on a great show. I am ready to go, I’ve put in all the hard work with my team in Ireland. I’m here now in Riyadh, and come on Saturday.”
Per The Ring, potential replacements for Dubois include Lawrence Okolie, David Adeleye and Mourad Aliev. That is despite Okolie and Adeleye both being scheduled to fight on 25 April – against Richard Riakporhe and Jeamie TKV respectively. The Ring is owned by key matchmaker Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi adviser behind the Kingdom’s aggressive entry into boxing.
Dubois’s fight with Parker, 33, is due to serve as Saturday’s co-main event, before Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s rematch for the undisputed light-heavyweight titles. In October, the unbeaten Beterbiev won a narrow decision against Bivol to become undisputed champion, handing the latter his first professional loss.
Saturday’s fight card has been hailed by many fans and pundits as the “greatest” in boxing history, yet it was first hit by illness on Tuesday, when Floyd Schofield was removed from his planned bout with Shakur Stevenson. Schofield was due to challenge his fellow unbeaten American for the WBC lightweight title, but he was replaced by Josh Padley this week. Now Dubois has seemingly suffered a similar setback to Schofield.
Dubois, 27, won the interim IBF heavyweight belt by stopping Filip Hrgovic in June, before being elevated to official champion when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the regular belt. The Briton then retained the title in September, with a knockout of compatriot Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium.
Parker, should he fight on Saturday, will enter the Kingdom Arena on the back of five straight victories, including signature wins over Zhilei Zhang and Deontay Wilder. The Kiwi bullied Wilder across 12 rounds in late 2023 and climbed off the canvas twice to outpoint Zhang in March.
