I originally opted for Parker to do exactly that, beat Dubs to the punch, move, reset and repeat. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he managed to stifle Dubs in each round and build up a lead. I just see him getting involved at some point though and Dubs building on that moment of success.jamesmcdonnell wrote: ↑06 Jan 2025, 15:28If Parker gets through the first couple of rounds, when Dubois comes out of the corner like a pitbull with a lit fag stubbed out on it's ringer, I think he can take this.The Gratest wrote: ↑06 Jan 2025, 07:42Did the awkward handshake turning to fist bump not get you going?margaret thatcher wrote: ↑19 Dec 2024, 13:18 how am i going to enjoy the fight without some raw juicy beef though
Psychological advantage to Dubs there, made Parker adjust to what he wanted to do! (Although Dubs has no actual idea that he did this).
I'm just so undecided with this one. I like both guys a lot, especially after the routes they've taken of late, showing the balls to take on dangerous opponents, not just once but twice and then (in Dub's case) thrice!
Of the opponents they've beaten on their recent comebacks to get to where they are now, I probably rate Dub's wins higher than Parker's, but not taking anything away from Parker's impressive wins.
I just see more flaws in Parker's opponents that he was able to exploit, whereas Dubs answered a few more questions in his wins.
Wilder - he forced him on to the back foot from the start and never gave him any room to land his right hand. Wilder offered nothing in return and Parker made it look relatively simple.
Zhang - a helluva puncher, but a guy who doesn't fight at pace and very economical with his punch output. Parker fought smart and was able to keep Zhang in check at times with his own well picked punches.
After the doubts over his heart with the manner of the stoppages against Joyce and Usyk, Dubois has done a lot to quell those doubts.
The Joyce defeat...I don't know what the pain must be like getting repeatedly smacked by an 18st guy on a shattered eye socket, but it's probably pretty painful. He was still young enough to take that loss and come again rather than risking his eyesight and career.
Against Usyk, he was getting outboxed and peppered with shots. Maybe psychologically, if the opponent is offering you more of an opportunity to actually land some of your own your and feel like your still in a with a chance then you suck it up and carry on. If that feeling of every time you threw, you missed or got blocked and got countered back, then it becomes more sickening. It wasn't a good look at the time though, going down and getting stopped by a jab, and it seemed to spell the end for Dubs at World level.
His comeback has been brilliant though and against Miller and Hrg, he was in against opponents who he could land his own punches and feel them sinking in, having an effect.
The Miller stoppage is probably the most i've cheered for a fighter in a long time. Miller's a handful for anyone. He's massive and, despite his bulk, he does have a decent punch output. A lot of his punches are arm punches, but still carry considerable weight and also make the opponent think that they're getting tagged. Dubs came through some difficult moments and still had the energy to finish of Miller with a salvo near the end.
Against Hrg, he took some massive right crosses, but fired back straight away. It may have been a TKO due to Hrg's facial damage, but he'd taken the best Hrg had to offer and I think had taken the fight out of him as well by then.
He's displayed a neat double jab of late and a bit more head and lateral movement (although did eat a lot of Hrg's rights).
In a way, I rate both these wins higher than the win over Joshua. Mainly because of the weird manner in which Joshua fought. He had his hands down in a similar manner to when he got tagged the first time by Ruiz (contrast that to how tight and cautious he was against Ngannou). I don't know if he didn't see Dubs as a threat, or if the occasion got to him (strange as he's previously been in so many big fights). He was just a sitting target for Dubs to cut down and offered little in response.
With Wilder and Zhang, Parker had a game plan to exploit their weaknesses and stuck to it. Against Dubs, I think he'll end up reverting back to the Parker style that fought the likes of Whyte and Chisora. I see Dubs as being better than any version of those 2 and, unlike Wilder and Zhang, willing to let his hands go as soon as Parker throws his shots. I can see Dubs taking it on a close points win, Parker edging the earlier rounds by landing first and smothering/moving back, but then getting more involved in the middle rounds and possibly a knockdown late on for Dubs sealing the win.
The blueprint to beat Dubois has been shown, lateral movement, keep yourself out of harms way for the first few rounds, and keep landing the jab, stop dubois getting set, and keep poking away, and break his heart.
Joyce who is hardly wayne sleep footwork wise, was able to do this quite easily, as was Usyk of course.
What you cannot do, is stand winging away big shots standing in front of Dubois, as AJ found out, if he's set and able to throw bombs without having to move, he's extremely dangerous.
I like Parker's chances, provided he doesn't get hurt in the first couple of rounds.
Cue 1st round KO from Dubois.
Fck, I probably will change my mind again before it starts!
