WBO once again orders Usyk to face Parker

Oleksandr Usyk has thirty days to negotiate with interim titlist Joseph Parker

For the second time this year, the WBO has ordered undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to face interim champion Joseph Parker, giving them the standard 30-day window to negotiate.

Turki and co. say they’re “not interested,” but there’s nothing stopping Usyk’s (24-0, 15 KO) team from just collaborating with Queensberry the way they did for last weekend’s knockout over Daniel Dubois.

I’m hopeful that’s the route they take, as Parker (36-3, 24 KO) has more than earned this opportunity. After beating Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang back-to-back missed out on a crack at Daniel Dubois due to circumstances outside of his control, then accepted a last-minute clash with the ultra-dangerous Martin Bakole and promptly felled him in two. The only other heavyweight contender with a similar body of work at the moment is Kabayel, and Parker already had a title shot taken from him.