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Daniel Dubois, Joseph Parker in talks for January fight - sources
Daniel Dubois could face Joseph Parker in January. Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images, Steven Paston/PA Images via Getty Images

Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker are in talks for a heavyweight title bout in January, sources have told ESPN.

Ring Magazine first reported that the pair could meet in the New Year with Jan. 30 a potential date.

Nothing has been agreed or confirmed, but London and Manchester are being explored as potential locations.

Dubois (24-3, 23 KOs) is keen to stay active following his Round 2 demolition of Fabio Wardley in October when he retained his WBO belt.

Parker (36-4, 24 KOs) has been out of action since he lost to Wardley last October. The former WBO champion failed a drugs test after the fight, returning a positive result for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

He was cleared to fight in August with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) confirming he had served a three-month ban.

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."

The New Zealander now potentially has the chance to become a two-time heavyweight champion on his return but would come up against arguably the best heavyweight on the planet outside of Oleksandr Usyk.

With his two victories over Wardley this year, Dubois has established himself as the dominant fighter in the division with Usyk's next moves unknown.

After the rematch victory over Wardley, Dubois told promoter Frank Warren he wanted "big fights and big money."

While waiting for unification bouts against fellow champions Agit Kabayel or Filip Hrgovic, who is set to face mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez next, Parker would present a decent challenge for Dubois.

Parker and his team are reportedly weighing up the offer but are wary of going in against a champion of Dubois' calibre after over a year out of the ring, according to The New Zealand Herald.

Dubois and Parker were originally set to meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in February 2025 before Dubois fell ill, forcing him to withdraw from the fight.

Parker still fought on the card and beat Martin Bakole with a Round 2 knockout.

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