The World Boxing Organization has given Oleksandr Usyk a month to reach a deal to fight Joseph Parker.Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has been ordered to start negotiations to defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title against Joseph Parker.
The order could end British fighter Daniel Dubois’s hopes of a rematch with the Ukrainian.
The WBO announced on Thursday that Usyk, who also holds the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) belts, has 30 days to “reach terms” for a mandatory title defence against New Zealand’s Parker or the governing body will call for purse bids.
Parker defended his WBO interim title in Riyadh last month with a second-round stoppage of Martin Bakole, a late replacement after Dubois withdrew because of illness.
Rather than reschedule his bout against Parker, International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Dubois had hoped for a return clash with Usyk, who defeated the Briton by ninth-round knockout in August 2023.
Dubois, 27, was understood to be in talks to face Usyk in a fight that would see all four major world heavyweight titles up for grabs, but the WBO’s announcement has complicated the picture in a sport where the lack of a single global governing body means there are often multiple world champions in the same weight class. Advertisement
Usyk defeated Britain’s Tyson Fury in May 2024 to become the firs …
