Dubois, Parker in Talks for January Heavyweight Title Bout

Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker are in talks for a heavyweight title bout in January, with Jan. 30 identified as a potential date. Reportedly, the two fighters could meet in the New Year.

Nothing has been agreed or confirmed regarding the fight, but London and Manchester are being explored as potential locations for the bout.

The two fighters were originally set to meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in February 2025, but the bout was called off when Dubois fell ill, forcing him to withdraw from the fight.

Dubois, who holds a record of 24-3 with 23 KOs, is keen to stay active following his Round 2 demolition of Fabio Wardley in October, a fight in which he retained his WBO heavyweight belt. Parker, the former WBO champion with a record of 36-4 and 24 KOs, has been out of action since he lost to Wardley last October.

Parker’s path back to the ring has been complicated by a failed drugs test after his fight against Wardley, in which he returned a positive result for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) confirmed in August that Parker had served a three-month ban and was cleared to fight.

UKAD said Parker’s team provided evidence that the adverse finding was a result of contamination due to “exposure to cocaine used by the nutritionist he had employed in preparation for the bout.”

After his rematch victory over Wardley, Dubois told promoter Frank Warren that he wanted “big fights and big money.”

Parker and his team are reportedly weighing up the offer but are wary of going in against a champion of Dubois’ caliber after over a year out of the ring. Parker potentially has the chance to become a two-time heavyweight champion on his return, but he would come up against arguably the best heavyweight on the planet outside of Oleksandr Usyk.

What is your view on the potential Dubois-Parker heavyweight title bout in talks for January?