Joseph Parker is the WBO mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk.
The New Zealander has earned his spot by beating three dangermen of the division in Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole.
Parker faced Bakole in February at the last minute after IBF Champion Daniel Dubois pulled out of a voluntary title defence on fight week due to illness.
Dubois – who has a mandatory of his own in Derek Chisora – now has the opportunity to organise an undisputed fight with Usyk, though that would leave Parker without a well-earned title shot.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB, Parker said that he would rather face Dubois first before himself unifying with the Ukrainian.
“What I’d like to do is fight Dubois, reschedule that fight … I’ll get his title and then I can fight Usyk. Undisputed. Probably the biggest and best achievement in boxing.”
Though Parker admitted he has ‘no idea’ what will happen next, he does believe that the powers that be are leaning towards the undisputed fight next.
“Unfortunately, it looks like things are gonna go the other way. It looks like Dubois and Usyk will probably fight and I’m just gonna stay patient … It just delays me.”
More is to become clear over the coming weeks, with Dubois recently saying that he would like to reschedule the voluntary defence but also targeting a rematch with Usyk after losing to him back in 2023.
Should the four belt clash happen, a second fight with Anthony Joshua may be a possibility for Parker, though he says he wants title fights rather than big money bouts.
