WBO Orders Oleksandr Usyk To Duel Mandatory With Joseph Parker

Oleksandr Usyk must duel against Joseph Parker (Instagram/@usykaa).

JAKARTA - Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk received an order from the World Boxing Organization (WBO) to initiate mandatory battle negotiations against Joseph Parker, the agency's interim belt holder.

WBO in an electoral letter to K2 promoters Alex Krassyuk and Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions confirmed that Usyk and Parker were given a deadline of only 30 days to reach an agreement.

Parker's promoter, David Myr, is still unable to confirm whether the fight will happen or not. However, he said his client was ready for a world title duel.

"I spoke with Joseph Parker today and he will be delighted to fight for the title of world champion. He will fight with anyone, anywhere for the title of world champion," he said.

Information regarding the fight between Usyk and Parker has been circulating since 2022 before the belt was finally given to Joe Joyce versus Parker. Parker won the duel through knockout (KO).

The temporary title finally returned to Parker's waist. Since then the belt has been recorded to have been contested five times in the past two and a half years.

Badminton said that his client would not think of dueling times to accept negotiations with Usyk because he really wanted to fight to win the status of a heavyweight world champion.

"Joseph patiently waits, maintains his fitness. If there is an opportunity to fight for a title, he will really want to achieve it. We will accept it in an instant," he said.

Currently Usyk is pursuing the undisputed status of the champion for the second time against IBF belt holder Daniel Dubois. For that, he had to defend his WBO belt before clashing with Dubois.

Usyk, who also holds the WBA and WBC belts, has repeatedly been linked to the undisputed race for the title against Dubois. According to reports, negotiations for the duel are ongoing.