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There’s nothing quite like watching Joe Parker lip-syncing to Take That to lift the mood in the back of an Uber on a drizzly morning in Dublin. The dangerous threat Parker faces against another big-hitting monster of the ring in Daniel Dubois, in Riyadh on Saturday night, fades with the laughter.
Even the depressing reality that boxing will continue to ignore human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, as Parker’s intriguing bout with Dubois headlines an outstanding bill bankrolled by the country’s General Entertainment Authority, can’t erode the wit and charm of the New Zealand heavyweight channelling his inner Gary Barlow.
It’s a long drive from the heart of Dublin to the Ballybrack Boxing Club, where Parker has prepared for Dubois, and so I watch the video the fighter made last April. In December 2023 Parker had outclassed Deontay Wilder, a knockout merchant expected to crush him, and he was looking for a new opponent. Settling on Dillian Whyte, against whom he had lost a slugfest in 2018, Parker created an amusing parody of the usual abusive call-out.
Rather than being belligerent or crude, Parker pretended to croon and dance his way into Whyte’s heart by serenading him to the plaintive strains of Take That’s Back for Good. Featuring framed photographs of Whyte, and lipstick-stained mugs, Parker and his crew of South Auckland homeboys shuffled and sang their seemingly love-struck lament as a way of trying to set up a rematch. Those few minutes captured the essence of Parker.
Hearing about this diversion on my way to see him, a beaming Parker exclaims happily soon after I step into the gym. “That’s my favourite,” he says of the Whyte spoof which belongs to an entertaining collection of videos Parker began making during Covid lockdowns with his wife, Laine, and their children in 2020. Laine was initially dubious but the videos became an internet sensation and she joined him in making them – including her as Olivia Newton-John to his John Travolta in their version of Grease.
Last month Laine and their five kids surprised Parker by arriving in Dublin – as a way of bringing the family back together amid the grind of fight camp. “It’s been very beneficial,” Parker says of their reunion, “because I worry when I’m in camp. I always think: ‘What’s happening back home? How are they? They’re missing out on time seeing their dad. Is my wife OK looking after five kids?’
“The toughest part about boxing is saying goodbye to your family and being away in camp. They’re now staying in a separate house but it’s six minutes away and I get to see them for two hours every evening. It’s a great boost.”
Parker is the most amiable man in boxing but his good mood, as the days tick down to his fight against the formidable Dubois, is not just because his family have been around him. It seems rooted in his sense that he has a serious chance of upsetting Dubois and replacing him as the IBF heavyweight champion. His team is led by Andy Lee, the astute and inspirational Irish trainer, and also includes George Lockhart, the American nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach.
Lee has transformed Parker after the heavyweight, who was ill with a virus, lost against Joe Joyce on an 11th‑round stoppage in 2022. Parker has since been on a five‑fight winning run, with his most recent two victories against Wilder and the Chinese giant Zhilei Zhang catapulting him towards the heavyweight summit.
After an hour in the ring, the steam rising from him on a freezing morning, Parker sits down with me for an hour. Conviction pours from him as he says: “I feel a real belief going into this fight – not just because of those two wins but because George and I have been quietly working away since April, and Andy and I have done such great work the last three months.”
Dubois is also on a roll. He has shown grit and explosive power when stopping his past three opponents – Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua. “Even though Daniel’s in good form I don’t see the threat,” Parker says coolly. “I know he’s a beast but I’m extremely confident because of the work I’ve done. I’m more focused on the process. I enjoy going to the gym, training, eating honey, resting. If I do everything right, and do exactly what Andy tells me, the result will come.”
Parker is heartened by speculation that Dubois is overlooking him and focusing on a possible heavyweight title unification fight against Oleksandr Usyk, who remains the real world champion and is in possession of the three other belts: “Mmm, it’s good. He might be in two minds. His focus might be split on that fight and our fight. He deserves the praise he’s got recently but that can take him away from what’s actually important and what he needs to work on.”
Was he surprised that Dubois beat Joshua, knocking him down multiple times in five one-sided rounds? “I was,” Parker says, “because the only people that said Daniel would win were his team and George Lockhart. The whole week George told us that Daniel beats Joshua.”
What is Lockhart’s prediction for Dubois v Parker? “George said I’m going to finish him off in three rounds. And Daniel’s said he’s going to finish me in three rounds. So it’s interesting.”
Lee, meanwhile, told me how much he trusts Parker’s intelligence to negate Dubois’ shocking power. If the 33-year-old Kiwi of Samoan heritage can withstand the brutal punches being thrown his way he has the ring smarts to test Dubois – who has lost previously against Joyce and Usyk. The young British heavyweight was criticised unfairly in both contests and accused of quitting – even though he sustained a broken orbital bone against Joyce.
But Dubois remains under the domineering sway of his father and he used to be withdrawn and painfully shy. His confidence has blossomed since he defeated Joshua but does Parker believe Dubois might be psychologically fragile if momentum swings away from him? “If you haven’t worked on your weaknesses you can revert to them,” Parker says.
“When things get hard in the fight, you might latch on to that again. But he’s showing growth and confidence and strength. It’s just hard to know because he’s not really a man who says a lot. I also don’t trash-talk anyone. In that sense we’re similar. There is no crap talk towards each other.”
Parker and Dubois were first scheduled to fight in late 2023. “Andy, George and me were all on board for that one but, five days after agreeing, I got a call: ‘Sorry, Joe. You’re not fighting Daniel. You want to fight Wilder?’ Me, Andy and George were keen and so I got Wilder instead of Dubois.
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“Andy came up with the perfect gameplan. As soon as [Wilder] went on his back foot, Andy was like: ‘Put it on him and keep him there, using your feints and jabs. I executed and it was totally my night.”
Was victory against Wilder even sweeter than the moment when, in December 2016, he became the WBO champion after beating Andy Ruiz Jr in Auckland. “It was – because Wilder was a knockout artist who was going to smash me. I was just another opponent for him to look good before fighting Joshua. It was so sweet for myself, Andy and George and after the fight I was like: ‘Oh piss off, man.’ Beautiful.”
It was the same before he defeated Zhang last March. “They were lining Zhang up for Joshua because I wasn’t meant to win. It was just the one fight after the other I was meant to lose.”
Parker has been authoritative and convincing recently but does he worry about the damage of boxing having turned pro in 2012 and after 38 fights? “Yeah. Big time. I said to my team: ‘If you ever see any signs [of brain damage] I’m out. If my speech goes off track, please jump in and tell me.’ Andy would do it. George would. I’ve said I’ve only got two more years. When I’m 35, I’m out.”
Parker’s great friend Tyson Fury, who introduced him to Lee, has retired four times previously. But was Parker surprised by Fury’s latest retirement last month? “I was because I still think Tyson’s got a lot to give. He was in two very competitive fights with Usyk [who narrowly won both last year] and Tyson still loves the sport. When he announced his retirement I called him straight up that evening. I said: ‘What’s happened?’ He goes: ‘Joe, it’s one of those things. I don’t feel like fighting any more.’ But you never know with Tyson. He can do whatever he wants. He’s made lots of money, he’s got a loving family, achieved everything in boxing. So I told him: ‘It’s fine if you want to walk away. Enjoy your life, you’ve done everything.’”
Parker is a passionate ambassador for Manuka Doctor honey, while devouring the sweet stuff before he fights, and he has a supportive family. He credits his parents for all they have done. “They both came from Samoa. My dad lived in the bush and had a hard life. He lived on bats and eels, and went diving into the waterfall to get shrimp. He was very resourceful and like a bushman. But he had a hard upbringing in Samoa. My mum also lived up in the mountains of Samoa and it was tough for her.
“But it was even harder for them when they moved to South Auckland. They only spoke Samoan and they had to get work. Back then there was racism but they survived and made a living for us as a family [of five]. My dad’s been working in the same steel plant for 35 years and it’s a tough job. He’s still there now and he’s almost 65. But they are so proud of me.”
Parker reveals: “My mum’s dad had over 20 kids and my dad is one of something like 28 kids. I’ve got a very big family.”
Is the heavyweight planning to add to his own immediate family? “I think No 6 would be perfect. I’ve got four girls and one boy. One more would balance it out, hopefully another boy. You want to spend time with each of them and make sure they’re all given the time they need and want.”
Does his wife get nervous watching him fight? “I’m sure she still does, but she sees how Andy, George and me operate, how in sync we are, how we work so well together and it gives her confidence. She knows that if I win this fight it’ll probably be my best achievement. This will mean something different because I’m doing it more for myself now. Before it was for my dad, New Zealand and Samoa. Now it’s for me, my wife and kids.”
If he does win, will another lip‑syncing video be on the way? “I’d love that,” Parker says as he points to another trusted member of his camp. Kerry Russell helps the boxer to make his surreal and humorous videos and Parker says: “He’s the magic man and we’d need to do something special together after I beat Dubois.”
