Daniel Dubois' legendary trainer Don Charles has laid down the gauntlet to both Joseph Parker and the rest of the heavyweight division, stating his fighter has yet to get anywhere near his best.
The IBF champion will defend his crown for a second time when he faces Parker in the stunning 'Last Crescendo' fight card on February 22 in Riyadh, live on DAZN.
That will be the chief support to headline act Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2, following Dubois' knockout of Anthony Joshua in his first title defence in September, while Parker has earned another world championship shot after recording five straight, impressive wins.
While it is a mouthwatering bout, on a mouthwatering card, the media and public hype may not be as huge due to the profile AJ brought for the Wembley fight. However Charles insists that does not mean his charge will be any less prepared or focused for Parker.
"Every fight at this level is a serious fight. Paker is a very good fighter for Daniel. We are delighted by this fight," Charles told talkSPORT.
"Joseph Parker is very experienced and brings a lot to the table, including a very good ring IQ. I don't think there is too much difference in terms of challenges from Joshua to Parker, because every heavyweight can punch.
"So we will leave no stone unturned for Parker. Daniel now has a big target on his back. He has always been the underdog, but the bookies will make him favourite for this one, so it adds a different pressure.
"We all know it is very hard to win a title, but it is even harder to keep it. Daniel is aware of that and so is all of his team."
Parker will be the Greenwich fighter's 25th professional fight, currently with a record of 22-2 (21 KOs).
Despite that experience and record, Charles believes Dubois still has a lot of improvement to make and will go to an even higher level in Riyadh. That also goes for his training team, after the camp identified errors in their preparation for AJ.
"We were very successful against Joshua, but we also know what we did wrong. We know the areas we need to improve on, in training and in the ring.
"We know Parker's camp will be spotting our mistakes and weaknesses, so we need to improve these areas and turn them into strengths.
"In Daniel's career he has only been operating at 45% of his capacity and potential. We got him to 60% against Joshua. But there are still more layers to come for Daniel."
Still hurting from the 'quitters' tag
As well as defending his title and continuing the momentum to future potential undisputed bout, Charles, Dubois and his camp are still fuelled by proving the critics wrong.
Charles admits he is still angry and hurting from the negative statements and predictions made about the 27-year-old in the lead up to the Wembley showdown with AJ.
Most of that was fuelled by the 'quitter' tag stuck to Dubois following him taking the knee to Joy Joyce due to a serious eye injury.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
"I am a big believer in destiny. As long as you are doing something to improve and drive your destiny, you will achieve it. Seeing Daniel comeback from his setbacks, to improve, that has been his story and destiny.
"He is no quitter, it was a false narrative, that has been proven now. It was a narrative created by a few ex fighters, then it spread like wildfire into the public.
"It was unfair and not right. He was never a quitter. He has shown that now"
"I was upset with what certain pundits and ex-fighters said in the build up to that fight. It felt like the whole world was against us. Hearing an ex-fighter say, 'Daniel will be hospitalised in that fight'. It upset me, people like that should know better, because they know it could potentially happen.
"I am an emotional man, and that made me very angry.
"I feel there is an undercurrent and bias against Daniel and me in the way some pundits do their predictions."
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