It seems Tyson Fury will have to wait a bit more if he wishes to have the trilogy fight with Oleksandr Usyk—the only fight, in his opinion, that warrants him coming out of retirement. “April 18, 2026, Wembley Stadium 🏟️ The trilogy!” he had boldly proclaimed last month on Instagram while sharing a collage of himself and Oleksandr Usyk with ‘Trilogy’ boldly written across it. However, with Oleksandr Usyk having just won over Daniel Dubois in their July 19 rematch, his return to the ring could take up to seven months, based on his previous activity. While this timeline suggests Usyk could be ready before April, his next fight will very likely not be against the ‘Gypsy King’.

Just a few hours ago, the official WBO account posted on X with the caption: “OFFICIAL NOTICE 📢. The WBO has officially ordered negotiations for the mandatory heavyweight title bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker. Both parties have 30 days to reach an agreement, or the WBO will proceed to a purse bid. Let the countdown begin. 🥊.” With the Kiwi already holding the WBO Interim heavyweight title, it was only a matter of time before they ordered the undisputed heavyweight champion to defend his title against Joseph Parker. So, what exactly was written in the official letter? Let’s take a closer look.

In the letter issued by the WBO World Championship Committee, the organization ordered the commencement of negotiations between Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker to fulfill the mandatory title defense requirement. It stated, “By virtue of this order, the parties have thirty (30) days upon issuance of this letter to reach terms.” The letter further noted that if the parties fail to come to an agreement within the given time frame, the committee would initiate purse bid proceedings in accordance with WBO regulations for World Championship Contests. And, the minimum bid for the heavyweight division is set at one million dollars ($1,000,000.00). Additionally, either party may request purse bid proceedings at any point during the negotiation stage.

The letter concluded with a statement reinforcing the WBO’s authority: “Lastly, the WBO reserves its right to issue any and all further rulings deemed necessary, helpful, and convenient to accomplish the purposes, policies, and intent of the WBO rules, including but not limited to serving those interests that best serve boxing, and the WBO Heavyweight Division.” This announcement, however, didn’t come out of the blue as Team Usyk had reportedly anticipated this move well in advance.

Why Oleksandr Usyk needs to show he’s boxing’s true king

After a run of high-profile wins over British opponents, Oleksandr Usyk now appears poised to face a non-Brit in his next bout. Promoter Frank Warren has all but confirmed that Joseph Parker will be the next challenger to the undisputed throne. “The WBO, I’m sure, well, they already have ordered that as the WBO champion, he has to make his mandatory defense against Joe Parker, so it’s Joe Parker’s time,” Warren stated after Usyk’s win over Dubois. A few days ago, even Seconds Out Boxing confirmed the development, posting on X: “🆕 Joseph Parker is 𝙁𝙄𝙉𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙔 set to get his world title shot with the WBO set to order his opportunity against Oleksandr Usyk next!”

Attached to the post was an image of Joseph Parker, who is coming off a dominant second-round TKO win over Martin Bakole in February. The caption beneath the picture read: “Usyk and Joseph Parker to be ordered by WBO.” On paper, this matchup looks intriguing, and for all the good reasons. Why, you ask? Joseph Parker not only holds height and age advantages over the Ukrainian Southpaw but also enters this fight on a dominant six-fight win streak. With a professional record of 36-3, the Kiwi heavyweight has notable victories over Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, Derek Chisora, and Bakole.

Interestingly, Parker, who was in the crowd to watch Usyk extend his undefeated record to 24-0, is eager for the challenge. “There’s always respect between fighters, but I do want what he has,” he told the BBC. “He looked incredible tonight: power, aggression, punching with bad intentions. Daniel put up a great fight from the beginning. It was back and forth, but in the end, Usyk broke him down systematically and got him out of there.”

At this point, if the WBO-mandated bout doesn’t materialize, fans are likely to be furious. That said, do you think Oleksandr Usyk would sign up for this fight? And do you think Oleksandr Usyk would stay undefeated against Joseph Parker?