LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 13: Daniel Dubois (L) goes head to head with Joseph Parker during the … [+]
One of the most eagerly awaited boxing events of 2025, featuring an impressive seven title fights, takes place on Saturday, February 22, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at Kingdom Arena. The fight card, aptly dubbed “The Last Crescendo,” promises a night of consequential matchups. At the top of the card is a must-see rematch. In that contest, Artur Beterbiev puts his undisputed light heavyweight championship on the line against the man he took the WBA title from in October via majority decision, Dmitry Bivol. Before that rematch, Daniel Dubois puts his IBF heavyweight title on the line against Joseph Parker. Below, we look at the odds, picks and predictions for the Dubois vs. Parker title fight.
Dubois Vs. Parker
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – JUNE 01: Daniel Dubois of Team Queensberry poses for a photo with his title … [+]
Daniel Dubois (22-2 with 21 knockouts) won the WBA (regular) heavyweight title in June 2022 with a knockout victory over Trevor Bryan. In December of that year, Dubois defended that title against Kevin Lerena with a third-round knockout victory.
In his next matchup, Dubois got a spectacular opportunity, a matchup against WBA (super), WBO, and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk defeated Dubois by knockout in the ninth-round, but the fight was not without controversy.
Dubois dropped Usyk in the fifth round with a punch that the referee ruled a low blow. Usyk took all of his his allotted five minutes to recover from the shot. Replays showed the punch landing on the belt line. Dubois camp contested the call, but the WBA upheld the low blow ruling.
Since that loss, Dubois is 3-0 with knockout wins over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and most recently Anthony Joshua. Dubois won the IBF title with his TKO victory over Hrgovic, and successfully defended the crown with his September 2024 knockout of Joshua.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 13: Joseph Parker during the Launch Press Conference for the Riyadh Season … [+]
Joseph Parker (35-3 with 23 knockouts) is a former WBO heavyweight champion. He won that belt in 2016 with a knockout win over Andy Ruiz Jr. He defended the title twice before dropping a unanimous decision to Anthony Joshua in March 2018. Parker would follow that loss with a decision setback to Dillian Whyte the same year.
After the loss to Whyte, Parker put together an unbeaten run of six fights. Then in September 2022, Parker faced Joe Joyce for the interim WBO heavyweight crown. Joyce won that bout by 11th-round KO.
Parker bounced back from that stoppage defeat with five straight wins. His most recent victory was a March 2024 majority decision triumph over Zhilei Zhang in a fight where Zhang dropped Parker twice.
Dubois Vs. Parker Betting Odds
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 13: Daniel Dubois (L) goes head to head with Joseph Parker during the … [+]
When the betting odds opened for Dubois vs. Parker, Dubois was a -245 favorite over Parker, who was listed as the +194 betting underdog. Today, Dubois is listed at -260, while Parker comes in at +200.
Artur Beterbiev Vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 Opening Betting Odds
Dubois Vs. Parker Tale Of The Tape
Daniel Dubois
Record: 22-2-0 with 21 knockouts
Age: 27
Height: 6’5″
Reach: 78″
Stance: Orthodox
Joseph Parker
Record: 35-3-0 with 23 knockouts
Age: 33
Height: 6’4″
Reach: 76″
Stance: Orthodox
Beterbiev Vs. Bivol 2 Fight Card: PPV Price
Dubois Vs. Parker Breakdown
The only fighters to beat Daniel Dubois are Joe Joyce (KO in 2020) and Oleksandr Usyk (KO in 2023). The IBF heavyweight champ has scored three knockouts in his past three fights, including his most recent win, a September 2024 stoppage of Anthony Joshua.
Dubois is the younger and more powerful fighter of the two. He has also been more active. With his age and power, it’s hard, but not impossible to pick against Dubois in this matchup.
In addition to his power, Dubois is a good pressure fighter, especially if he has an opponent with suspect footwork who tends to back up in a straight line. When Dubois faces a defense like that, he can push forward and force his opponent to the ropes, where he can unload power combos.
Dubois tends to step into his single jabs and leave his back hand out of position, which makes him available to be hit on counters. Dubois uses a high guard for his defense, but he tends to bite on feints and probing jabs, which an experienced opponent can exploit. His guard also tends to leave his body open as well as his chin for uppercuts. Dubois needs to tighten up his defense against a veteran like Parker.
Parker must use ever bit of experience he has in this matchup against the more powerful Dubois. His uppercuts could be the key to his offense. If Parker can work inside Dubois’ sometimes porous guard or open him up with feints and jabs, he score an upset win on Saturday.
On defense, Parker needs to be aware of his footwork. He can’t back up in a straight line, and he needs to be aware of putting himself off balance. Parker has the ability to score when he is backing up, but to do that against Dubois he needs to bait the less experienced fighter into coming forward without throwing punches. If Parker can get Dubois stepping in, he has a very good chance to score with uppercuts.
Parker has not fought since he defeated Zhilei Zhang in March 2024. The time off is a worry for the older fighter.
Dubois Vs. Parker Prediction and Pick
This is a great heavyweight matchup and its hard to pick. On one hand, there is the youth and power of Dubois. On the other side, there is the experience of Parker.
The first pick is that the fight will end via knockout.
As for who will score that KO, the pick is the power of Daniel Dubois.
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Dubois on Parker
“No way [am I overlooking Parker], I’m gonna do a demolition job on him and then I want Usyk next. I’m ready for it and I’m on a roll so bring him on,” Dubois said at a recent press conference.
“I feel like I’ll be too much for him,” added Dubois. “Too strong, too fast, everything he does I’m going to do it better. I’m confident, I ain’t gotta’ say too much. It’s going to be a great fight.
“I’ll teach you a few things in there if you’ve just started out. I’ll teach you a few lessons and some skills. I’m ready to go.”
Parker on Dubois
“You have a fight right in front of you right now,” Parker said at the mention of Usyk. “I’ve been boxing for a while and I feel like I’ve only just begun now. I feel like I’ve got everything right now, and you’re in for a treat.
“I like that he’s full of confidence. It’s sky-high at the moment but it’s all going to stop on February 22nd. Let’s go.”
We will have more on the Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2 card and the Dubois vs. Parker fight, including updated betting odds, as fight night approaches. On fight night we will have live results updates for the entire card.
