Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker’s fight was cancelled at th 11th hour (Image: The Ariel Helwani Show / Getty)
Daniel Dubois has been accused of shirking by Joseph Parker after the Brit pulled out of the pair’s heavyweight bout last week.
Parker withdrew from the fight because of medical reasons just days before it was scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia.
Dubois was set to defend his IBF title for the second time, with no details surrounding the 27-year-old’s illness released to the public.
There had been suggestions that Dubois backed out because he’d been earmarked as a potential opponent for Oleksandr Usyk and didn’t want to put his chances of fighting the Ukrainian in jeopardy by losing to Parker in Saudi Arabia.
But Parker, the New Zealander he was set to fight, has come up with a theory of his own.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Parker hypothesised: “It feels weird because [Daniel Dubois] was at the public workout and then, just like that, he got real ill and there was no real statement.
“There’s no real proof or doctors. There’s nothing. It feels a bit weird. It feels a bit strange that during that time that Usyk started calling out Dubois saying he wants him next.”
He added: “Just like that he got real ill, there was no real statement, no proof, no doctor’s [note].
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Joseph Parker was due to fight Daniel Dubois (Image: Getty)
“There’s nothing that’s come out, even after the fight. It feels a bit weird and it feels a bit strange during that time Usyk starts calling out Dubois saying he wants him next.”
Pushing Parker on what he thinks “went down”, host of the show Helwani pushed the fighter for more details.
Parker, happy to oblige, responded: “We haven’t heard anything back yet and you’re talking about Dubois and Usyk having a fight, there’s a possibility they try and line that up.
“But was he sick? I have no idea. And I don’t want to go into it because I might something wrong, I’m just not sure, you know?”
When quizzed on whether Dubois might’ve backed out to avoid missing out on a potential Usyk bout, he responded: “I think there are so many possibilities, but until we hear from him or the team about what actually happened, there’s always going to be speculation about what happened and what is going to happen.”
Commenting on Dubois’ withdrawal, promoter Frank Warren said at the time: “It was a big fight, he’s trained very hard.
“If you don’t fight you don’t get paid, imagine the cost of a training camp, booking places, setting the camp up, bringing the sparring partners in, nutritionists, chefs, trainers, and you don’t get paid.
“It’s a massive loss, you can’t insure it, if you do it costs a fortune to insure.
“Very, very disappointed. It was an unbelievable purse he was getting for the fight but we are where we are, if you’re not well, you can’t fight.”