IBF heavyweight champion, Daniel Dubois is reportedly out of his title defense against veteran Oceanic challenger, Joseph Parker this weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — with the London champion falling ill in the hours before a planned press event.
Dubois, the current undisputed IBF heavyweight champion, successfully retained his championship back in September, handing former two-time heavyweight world titleholder, Anthony Joshua an eventual fifth round knockout loss in brutal fashion in London.
As for Parker, the Auckland veteran won interim WBO heavyweight spoils back in March of last year in Riyadh, turning in a majority decision win over Chinese fan-favorite, Zhilei Zhang.
Daniel Dubois out of IBF title fight with Joseph Parker amid illness
However, amid reports revealing Daniel Dubois was being evaluated by medical staff as he suffered with illness ahead of today’s press event in the Middle East, Uncrowned reporter, Ariel Helwani revealed the bout against Parker was now off this weekend’s card, with a replacement currently being sought.
Joseph Parker vs. Daniel Dubois is off, per sources in Riyadh,” Helwani posted on X. “Dubois has a health issue. They are actively trying to find a replacement, but the fight card is in two days. I’m told the presser which was supposed to start shortly has been pushed back.
Hoping to secure himself a title rematch with former undisputed champion, Oleksandr Usyk with a victory over Parker in this weekend’s showdown, it appears Dubois’ hopes will ultimately come in vein.
First fighting the Ukrainian fan-favorite back in 2023, Dubois would suffer an eventual ninth round stoppage loss to Usyk in a back-and-forth headliner in Poland.
In the midst of a five-fight winning spree since his knockout loss to common-foe, Joe Joyce, to go with his win over Zhang, Parker had landed consecutive victories over the likes of Simon Kean, and former undisputed WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder.
This weekend’s monumental card in Riyadh features an undisputed light heavyweight championship rematch between the incumbent, Artur Beterbiev, and former gold holder, Dmitry Bivol.