Oleksandr Usyk must box WBO interim champion Joseph Parker – or the Ukrainian risks losing the WBO title.
The next big heavyweight clash is waiting in the wings! The WBO has officially ordered a title duel between the undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk and New Zealand’s interim champion Joseph Parker. Negotiations are to begin shortly – if no agreement is reached, a purse bid will follow.
Parker, once WBO world champion himself, has boxed his way back to the top with a winning streak of six fights. Most recently, he impressed with a thunderous knockout against Martin Bakole, before which he defeated Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, among others. With 36 wins (24 knockouts), the New Zealander is currently one of the most in-form heavyweights in the world and is ranked third by The Ring.
Usyk , who recently stopped Daniel Dubois spectacularly in the fifth round, currently holds all four major titles and is ranked number one in the pound-for-pound rankings. It remains to be seen whether he will make the mandatory defense against Parker or instead aim for a third mega-duel with Tyson Fury – if he refuses, he could lose the WBO belt.
For Parker, a win against Usyk would be the crowning glory of his comeback. For Usyk, nothing less is at stake than continuing his historic reign at heavyweight. The victim of a duel between Usyk and Parker would once again be Agit Kabayel. The German heavyweight challenged Usyk himself after his victory over Dubois. The question arises as to why the WBO interim world champion actually has more right to an undisputed showdown than the WBC interim world champion.
Text by Robin Josten