Usyk vs. Parker: The WBO Orders Negotiations for the World Title Defense
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has issued an order for heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to begin negotiations to defend his title against Joseph Parker. Usyk, who holds the undisputed heavyweight title, managed to unify the four belts for the second time after defeating Daniel Dubois by technical knockout in the fifth round on July 19 at Wembley Stadium, London. Usyk, 38 years old, came to the rematch as the WBA, WBO and WBC champion. Parker, after an impressive streak of fights, won the interim WBO title against Zhilei Zhang in March 2024, making him the mandatory challenger to Usyk, the undisputed champion. The WBO has given both parties a period of 30 days to reach an agreement. If this is not the case, a bid auction will be held.The minimum amount for the auction has been set at $1,000,000. Frank Warren, Parker’s promoter, expressed his desire to see this fight after Usyk’s victory over Dubois, highlighting that it would be a great fight. Usyk had previously conquered the undisputed championship by defeating Fury in May 2024, but relinquished the IBF belt a month later to prioritize a rematch against Fury, instead of facing the then mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic.By means of this order, the parties have thirty (30) days from the issuance of this letter to reach an agreement.
WBO
