Ring, WBC, WBO, WBA, IBO heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk and his handlers are expecting a very close fight this coming Saturday, when Daniel Dubois defends the IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

"My team has made a prediction. 52 percent is for Dubois, 48 percent is Joseph Parker," Usyk said.

The winner of Dubois-Parker is a frontrunner to face Usyk later this year in a high-stakes undisputed showdown.

Parker, a former WBO world champion, is a very live dog after securing wins over dangerous contenders like Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.

Dubois is also coming off a string of impressive wins, with stoppages of Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua.

There is already some bad blood between Dubois and Uysk.

After Usyk won his rematch with Tyson Fury last December, Dubois entered the ring and demanded a rematch. The Ukrainian boxer was surprised by Dubois' actions.

"I thought: 'What are you doing here? This is my place'," Usyk recalled. "After the fight [Dubois said:] 'Hey, listen, I want rematch…' Just say [I did a] good job."

Usyk and Dubois collided in 2023 - in a clash that had some controversy. Dubois dropped Usyk in the fifth round with a borderline punch. Usyk went down in severe pain - and the punch was ultimately ruled as a low blow by the referee. Usyk would recover and eventually stopped Dubois in the ninth round.