Joseph Parker will be rewarded for his patience by facing the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois for undisputed glory, says Frank Warren.
Parker, the current WBO interim world champion and mandatory challenger to Usyk, saw a clash with the Ukrainian bruiser snubbed in favour of a rematch with Dubois, which was announced on Sunday.
The Kiwi had also been due to take on Dubois for his IBF world heavyweight title back in February, before the Brit pulled out at the 11th hour on fight week after falling ill. Martin Bakole stepped in at short notice on what was billed as the greatest card in boxing history, with Parker stopping the Congolese boxer to keep his stock high.
He is now forced to wait and watch as IBF champion Dubois clashes with WBO, WBC and WBA title holder Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship at Wembley Stadium on 19 July.
However, promoter Warren insists all is not lost for Parker, who will now find himself in a more favourable position when he is finally rewarded with a world title match.
“With Joe Parker, the WBO just put a mandate out saying that the winner of this fight has to defend against the WBO mandatory challenger, which is Joe Parker, which is a great fight by the way,” Warren told Sky Sports.
“People might be saying, ‘Oh, Joe must be peed off he’s not fighting Daniel.’ Well, he’ll be fighting for four belts now.
“Whoever wins it, which I hope is going to be our man [Dubois], they’ll be challenging for four belts, so he’s in a better place.”
Usyk and Dubois are set to renew hostilities after Usyk beat the Brit via ninth-round knockout in 2023, but only after rising from a contentious and debatable low blow.
Usyk then went on to become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion in the four-belt era when he outpointed Tyson Fury in May last year, but vacated the IBF title before beating the Briton again in December.
With Dubois upgraded to IBF champion, he underlined his status by brutally knocking out Anthony Joshua under the Wembley arch last September, and will hope for a similar outcome as he returns to the same venue to clash with Usyk.
But waiting in the wings will remain Parker, who is enjoying a hot streak at heavyweight. He rides a six-fight win streak, including notable victories over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.
Read the full article here