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Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker is at risk of collapsing on two days’ notice after the heavyweight champion fell ill, it has been reported.
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.
That is per The Ring, a magazine owned by boxing’s chief matchmaker Turki Alalshikh – the Saudi adviser behind the Gulf state’s aggressive entry into boxing in recent years.
According to The Ring, Dubois is “being evaluated by a doctor”. The Independent has contacted representatives of the 27-year-old for comment.
Lawrence Okolie, David Adeleye and Mourad Aliev are reportedly being considered as potential replacements for Dubois, although Okolie and Adeleye are both scheduled to fight on 25 April – against Richard Riakporhe and Jeamie TKV respectively.
Dubois’s fight with Parker 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 deemed unfit to compete. As a result, Josh Padley will step in to fight Stevenson. Now Dubois has seemingly suffered a similar setback.
Dubois 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 New Zealander, 33, bullied Wilder across 12 rounds in late 2023 and climbed off the canvas twice to outpoint Zhang in March.
