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Oleksandr Usyk has been ordered to start negotiations to defend his WBO heavyweight title against Joseph Parker, potentially scuppering Daniel Dubois’ hopes of a rematch with the Ukrainian.
The WBO has announced Usyk, who also holds the WBC and WBA crowns, has 30 days to “reach terms” for a mandatory title defence against New Zealand’s Parker or the sanctioning body will call for purse bids.
Parker defended his WBO interim title in Saudi Arabia last month with a second-round stoppage victory over Martin Bakole, a late replacement after Dubois, the IBF champion, withdrew because of illness. Rather than reschedule his bout against Parker, Dubois had hoped for a return meeting against Usyk, who defeated the Briton by a ninth-round knockout in August 2023.
The heavy-handed Dubois rebounded with impressive stoppage wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, before most recently knocking out his compatriot Anthony Joshua at Wembley last September.
The 27-year-old Londoner – who has a record of 22-2, with 21 KOs – was in talks to face Usyk in a fight that would have meant all four major world heavyweight titles were on the line, but the WBO’s announcement puts a spanner in the works.
Usyk became the undisputed champion in boxing’s blue riband division with a split-decision victory over Tyson Fury last May but vacated his IBF belt before the rematch, with Dubois elevated to full champion. The former undisputed world cruiserweight champion Usyk extended his perfect professional record to 23 wins in as many fights, with 14 stoppage victories, after overcoming Fury in a rematch in December.
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As Usyk was speaking immediately after being declared the winner by a unanimous decision, Dubois entered the ring and interrupted the London 2012 gold medallist’s interview to demand a bout. But it seems Parker, who held the WBO title from 2016 to 2018 and is on a six-fight winning streak since losing to Joe Joyce in 2022, is now at the front of the queue.
