Oleksandr Usyk has officially been ordered to fight Joseph Parker, his WBO mandatory challenger, after regaining undisputed status in the heavyweight division.
Usyk, 38, stopped Daniel Dubois for the second time on Saturday (19 July), regaining the IBF title and retaining his other belts at Wembley Stadium. The result kept the Ukrainian unbeaten, and talk quickly turned to his next challenge.
In the ring after the London bout, Usyk faced off with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who talked up an MMA fight, while Parker also spoke to Usyk. A few weeks before Saturday’s event, however, Tyson Fury announced he was ending his retirement with an eye on facing Usyk in April, having already lost to the southpaw twice.
But the WBO has now officially ordered Usyk to box New Zealand’s Parker, who retained the WBO interim title by knocking out Martin Bakole in February. That fight took place after Parker’s planned clash with Dubois collapsed on two days’ notice, with the Briton citing illness.
The WBO said in a statement on Thursday (24 July): “The WBO has officially ordered negotiations for the mandatory heavyweight title bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker.
“Both parties have 30 days to reach an agreement, or the WBO will proceed to a purse bid. Let the countdown begin.”
Usyk could avoid the fight by relinquishing the WBO title, should he wish to take on a different test.
Last year, after he outpointed Fury in May to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 24 years, Usyk gave up the IBF title. With that, he avoided a mandatory defence of the IBF belt and was able to partake in his contractually mandated rematch with Fury. In December, Usyk outpointed the Briton again, retaining the unified belts.
This week, Parker’s coach Andy Lee, who was one of Fury’s coaches in his two bouts with Usyk, revealed what it would take to beat Usyk.
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“What we work on in the gym is being ready at all times and body language in the ring, and keeping your feet in a position where you’re always ready to punch,” Lee said on DAZN’s Ariel x Ade show.
“If you are resting and you are taking a break, you don’t show it; you look as if you are ready to attack and you’re ready to punch. That’s basically what we do, and that’s what Usyk does.
“Usyk feeds off his opponent’s breaks. When they look to take that little switch, he’ll attack them. He can pressure, pressure, pressure, feint with his magic wand right hand, and he just burns them up.
“They are mentally exhausted as much as physically. And then when he wants to rest, he can move and dip and dive under the big guys’ punches.”
Usyk’s victory over Dubois, 27, not only made him a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion, but also a three-time undisputed champion overall. Previously, the Ukrainian reigned as the only undisputed cruiserweight king of the four-belt era. He also won Olympic gold at London 2012.
At Wembley, Usyk stopped Dubois in the fifth round, dropping the Briton twice en route to victory. He similarly dropped Dubois twice and stopped him in their 2023 fight in Poland.
