Usyk has been assigned a mandatory defense of the championship titles: who was chosen as an opponent
25 July 2025 06:12
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has officially announced the start of negotiations on a mandatory heavyweight title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker. This was reported by the official resources of the WBO, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
It should be noted that the 33-year-old New Zealander is a mandatory contender for the organization’s heavyweight belt.
Back in March, the WBO obliged Alexander to negotiate a date for a mandatory title defense fight with interim world champion Joseph Parker. However, due to the fight against Dubois, the organization postponed the defense for Usyk.
However, the WBO has now officially announced the deadline for the start of negotiations on a mandatory heavyweight title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker.
We would like to remind you that Joseph Parker last entered the ring in February, when he knocked out Martin Bakole in the second round.
Recently, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) and won the title of absolute heavyweight champion.
As you know, Usyk has held the WBO title since September 2021, when he defeated Anthony Joshua by a unanimous decision in a fight for the belts of three organizations.
As a reminder, Usyk holds the WBO, WBA, WBC, IBO belts and regained the IBF title by defeating Dubois in a rematch.
How the Usyk-Dubois rematch went down
Before the fight, Nadia Dorofeeva sang the Ukrainian national anthem a cappella. It was very powerful!
Oleksandr himself began to enter the ring first to “Ave Maria” by Tommee Profitt and Stanaj, a modern interpretation of the classic prayer, which flowed into Vasyl Zhadan’s song “Brothers” – a track that millions associate with Usyk’s entrance to the fight.
The fight began with the expected pressure from Dubois. Remembering the controversial moment with the punch below the belt in the first fight, the Briton tried to work on the Ukrainian’s body from the first rounds, using his size advantage. Usyk, in turn, acted cautiously, working on his feet.
The first three rounds were more of a tactical fight, but Usyk was still more convincing.
The turning point in the fight came in the fifth round. Oleksandr found his rhythm and began to break down the British defense with his trademark multi-punch combinations. The speed and boxing intelligence of the Ukrainian became an insoluble problem for Dubois.
The Briton started missing more and more clean punches, slowing down and losing confidence. This led to two knockdowns and a knockout!
Thus, it took Usyk 15 minutes to win!
Currently, Usyk has 24 fights in the professional ring, including 24victories and zero defeats.
