WBO issues an ultimatum to Usyk: fight with Parker or say goodbye to the belt

WBO issues an ultimatum to Usyk: fight with Parker or say goodbye to the belt

The next and probably last opponent for the undisputed world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk may be New Zealander Joseph Parker — the interim WBO champion.

This was reported by Talk Sport.

It is expected that the World Boxing Organization (WBO) will oblige Usyk to defend the title in a bout against Parker. If he refuses, the belt will be taken away, and Parker will become the full champion.

A similar situation happened last year: when Usyk chose a rematch with Tyson Fury, he was stripped of the IBF title, which automatically passed to Daniel Dubois. This allowed Dubois to have an official fight with Usyk, in which the Ukrainian won, but not without controversy.

The fight against Parker is expected to be the final one in Usyk’s career, after which he will announce his retirement.