In case Oleksandr Usyk was thinking of retiring, he will have to consider it another time once Gustavo Olivieri, president of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), announced through his social network X that the fight for the heavyweight title will be between the undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker, his interim champion and mandatory challenger. Olivieri also stated that the deadline for their free negotiation period will be revealed soon, this means venue, date and financial amounts for the fight.
It should be remembered that Joseph Parker was scheduled to fight Daniel Dubois for the IBF belt on February 22 (2025) at the ANB Bank Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but Dubois fell ill during fight week and withdrew from the bout. Instead, Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) knocked out last-minute replacement Martin Bakole (21-2-1, 16 KOs) in the second round that night to win the WBO interim title. That is why the New Zealander has been chosen.
Oleksandr Usyk thinks about retirement before WBO decision
Usyk’s last fight was on Saturday, July 19 at Wembley Stadium when he knocked out Daniel Dubois in the fifth round in their rematch. At the end of the fight, he mentioned that he is considering planning his retirement from the ring after having secured the undisputed heavyweight champion label. However, Usyk, ranked No. 1, has yet to respond to a challenge to face Parker.
A refusal to fight Parker could cost Usyk his WBO belt, especially if the organisation’s boss has ordered it to take place. In fact, there is no turning back. The Ukrainian will have to analyse his retirement later and for the moment it is to talk to Gustavo Olivieri to detail the next fight against Joseph Parker.
Tyson Fury given hope of completing trilogy against Oleksandr Usyk
In the boxing world, there is talk of an even more lucrative fight between Usyk and Parker. Saudi Arabian promoter and sheikh Turki Alalshikh has expressed his interest in organising a more interesting fight: Tyson Fury. However, will a third fight between the two boxers be lucrative and interesting? The Ukrainian has faced the Briton twice for the same number of victories. In other words, it would not be a tiebreaker fight, but a whim of the “Gipsy King”.
It should be noted that Usyk defeated Fury by split decision in their first fight 14 months ago at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh to become the first fully unified heavyweight champion of the four-belt era and subsequently won their immediate rematch over 12 rounds by unanimous decision on December 21 last year at the Kingdom Arena. Minutes after Usyk’s triumph over Dubouis, Tyson Fury posted that he is ready to face the Ukrainian, as he knows how to defeat him. Will he?
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