This night had been two years in the making. In front of a roaring crowd of 90,000 packed into Wembley Stadium, and with Jake Paul, Jason Statham, and fans around the globe watching, Oleksandr Usyk delivered his 24th professional win and 15th knockout to remain undefeated. After absorbing some early damage from Daniel Dubois, the 38-year-old southpaw mounted a vicious comeback, unleashing a fifth-round assault that handed Dubois his third career loss. With tears in his eyes and arms raised high, Usyk cemented his place in history as a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion. Ultimately, the question now is: what’s next?

In his post-fight interview with DAZN Boxing’s Ade Oladipo, Oleksandr Usyk kept things open-ended. “Next, I don’t know. I wanna rest… back in home, my wife, children… I wanna rest now, maybe 2-3 months, just rest,” he said. But he didn’t leave fans completely guessing. When asked about future opponents, Usyk replied, “Maybe Tyson Fury. Maybe, we have three options: Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua. Maybe Joseph Parker. Listen, I cannot now say… I wanna go back home.” While Usyk rightfully earns his well-deserved break, it appears the WBO has already taken a step forward.

After a run of high-profile wins over British opponents, it seems Oleksandr Usyk is finally set to face a non-Brit in his next bout. Promoter Frank Warren has all but confirmed that New Zealand’s Joseph Parker will be Usyk’s next challenger. “The WBO, I’m sure, well, they already have ordered that as the WBO champion, he has to make his mandatory defence against Joe Parker, so it’s Joe Parker’s time,” Warren stated. And sure enough, just hours ago, 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 a picture of Joseph Parker, who’s coming off a dominant second-round TKO win over Martin Bakole in February. Beneath the image, the caption read, “Usyk and Joseph Parker to be ordered by WBO.” On paper, this matchup looks promising. Why, you ask? Because, Parker not only boasts height, age, and experience advantages over Usyk but also enters the conversation riding a six-fight win streak. With a record of 36-3, the Kiwi has already scored victories over notable names like Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, Derek Chisora, and Bakole.

Interestingly, Parker, who was in the crowd to witness Usyk extend his undefeated run to 24-0, is excited about what lies ahead. “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.

Oleksandr Usyk must beat Joseph Parker for glory

Oleksandr Usyk cannot claim to be the greatest heavyweight boxer of his era until he faces and defeats Joseph Parker, at least. That’s the firm stance taken by Parker’s promoter, David Higgins. Speaking to Sky Sports, the Kiwi promoter emphasized the global demand for a Parker title shot. “The whole world wants to see Parker fight for a world title,” Higgins said. “He’s been in the queue for a long time. He’s the frontrunner and the WBO mandatory. It’s great to hear Frank Warren and even legends like Lennox Lewis saying Parker should be next.”

Higgins didn’t hold back on the stakes either, calling it a potential outrage if Parker is denied his rightful shot. “It’s not really fair,” he said. “He’s the No. 1 contender, the WBO mandatory, and my understanding is that the WBO have already ordered the winner to fight Joseph.” The veteran promoter moreover highlighted Parker’s credentials, pointing to his impressive résumé. “He’s fought names like Joshua, and he’s beaten guys like Andy Ruiz, Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, and Bakole recently. So if Usyk truly wants to be considered the greatest of this era, he must beat Joseph Parker. And he hasn’t done that yet. It would be silly to go back and fight people he’s already beaten.”

If that’s not enough, Higgins also praised Parker’s mindset and current form. “Joseph is ready,” the 45-year-old promoter said. “He’s boxing with the unified world title in mind. That’s his goal. He’s already beaten a lot of top guys, and he’d relish the opportunity to fight for that title.” Higgins added that Parker continues to grow as a fighter. “He’s stepped into the ring with feared opponents, often as the underdog, the kind of guys others avoid. And he’s just getting better and better every fight.” With that, the question is: What’s your take on the matchup? And can Parker pull off the upset against Oleksandr Usyk?