Joseph Parker insists he is ready to step in to face Daniel Dubois on February 22 and replace Anthony Joshua.
Dubois looked set to defend his IBF heavyweight world title against Joshua in a rematch early next year, although ‘AJ’ reportedly needs more time to recover after suffering a devastating fifth round stoppage defeat.
This leaves the 27-year-old champion without an opponent and former WBO titlist, Parker believes he would pose a completely different threat for the Londoner.
“I have been very vocal about wanting to fight Daniel Dubois,” the 32-year-old told talkSPORT Boxing.
“He’s done exceptionally well with Don Charles and his dad and his team.
“He looked great with the [Jarrell] Miller fight, the [Filip] Hrgovic fight.
“He looked good against Joshua getting that devastating knockout.
“But there’s a difference with me and all those other fighters, I’m fresh, I’m hungry, I’ve been waiting since March for a big fight, let’s get it on now.”
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The New Zealander has catapulted his way into contention with five straight victories, most notably over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang in his last two bouts.
Parker is currently not ranked in the top 15 with the IBF, which could prove a stumbling block towards securing a showdown.
Should a meeting with ‘Dynamite’ not materialise, Parker says he would be keen to face Agit Kabayel, who is highly ranked by both the IBF and WBC.
“All I need is the opportunity and someone put in front of me like Dubois,” he added.
“So I can show what I can do in a ring and I feel like I have improved big time.
“If the Dubois fight doesn’t happen I think Kabayel would be a great fight.
“He’s had two great wins [against] guys he wasn’t supposed to win against.
“He’s also the IBF mandatory and the WBC mandatory, so I think it would be great to get that and then I can have two chances of fighting for a belt.”
