The WBO has ordered negotiations for a bout between its interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and the unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, the ruling body has said.
Both parties have 30 days to agree on terms for a mandatory defence of Usyk’s title, and if they fail to do so, the WBO will open a purse bid.
“The minimum bid in the Heavyweight division is one million dollars … any of the parties herein may request purse bid proceedings at any time during negotiation stages,” the WBO said in a statement on Thursday.
Usyk has held the WBO belt since 2021, when he won it from Anthony Joshua along with the WBA and IBF titles, and has defended it four times, also taking the WBC belt from Tyson Fury to become the unified champion.
The undefeated Ukrainian vacated the IBF belt last year after opting not to face the sanctioning body’s interim champion Daniel Dubois in favour of a rematch with Fury, which he won by unanimous decision in December.
Usyk, 38, knocked out Dubois on Saturday to regain the IBF belt and undisputed status.
New Zealand’s Parker won the interim WBO championship last year in a majority decision over Zhilei Zhang. He defended it in February, knocking out Martin Bakole.
