As fans no doubt know, unified WBA/WBO/WBC heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk was recently ordered by the WBO to next fight Joseph Parker. Usyk—who said a while back that he plans to have just two more fights before calling it a career, and a most glorious one at that—seems more interested in a return fight with Daniel Dubois, whom Usyk stopped back in August 2023 but who now holds the IBF heavyweight belt that was stripped from Usyk.
Tyson Fury, good friends with Parker and of course a man who Usyk twice beat, made his feelings clear when the WBO ordered Usyk to defend against Parker:
“It’s about time as well, give Joe Parker his shot!” Fury wrote on social media.
But will it be Parker for Usyk next, or might the 38-year-old opt to vacate, or be stripped of the WBO belt, and fight Dubois instead? Right now, we just don’t know what Usyk will do. But there is no doubt Parker, who is on a real run of form, deserves his shot. Dubois’s people, along with his fans, say Usyk has unfinished business with “DDD,” this is due to the “was it a low blow, was it a legit body shot?” Dubois knocked Usyk down before being stopped himself later in the fight that took place in Poland.
But for other people, Parker is more deserving of a shot at Usyk. We must wait and see who Usyk will choose, but it is possible the Ukrainian will fight both Parker and Dubois before retiring from the sport. It would be interesting if a major poll was taken, with the fans voting on who they would prefer to see Usyk fight next, sort of like the way Floyd Mayweather put out the question asking who his fans wanted to see him fight next back in 2014.
Carl Froch agrees with those who say Parker should be next for Usyk, even though “The Cobra” says he doesn’t give Parker much of a chance of beating Usyk.
“Parker deserves his shot,” Froch said. “It was Dubois that pulled out of the Parker fight, and Parker had a good win over [Martin] Bakole. I don’t give Parker much of a shot of beating Usyk. Look what Usyk’s done, he’s done Joshua twice and beaten Fury twice so you can’t say Parker has a great deal of a chance. But you never know, if Usyk’s getting old and Parker’s on a crest of a wave doing well it might make for an interesting fight. He deserves it.”
It seems almost everyone agrees that Parker deserves his shot.
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