Oleksandr Usyk told he must face Joseph Parker for ‘perfect resume’

Parker holds the WBO interim heavyweight title, and if he beats Fabio Wardley, he will be the next man to challenge Usyk

Joseph Parker’s promoter, David Higgins, has laid down the gauntlet for Oleksandr Usyk, saying that he needs to beat the New Zealander to have the “perfect” heavyweight resume before he retires.

This comes shortly after long-time boxing analyst Max Kellerman claimed that Usyk is an overrated heavyweight champion and that his resume is not where it could be – despite beating Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois twice, respectively. Higgins thinks Parker is the missing piece.

After Usyk’s knockout of Daniel Dubois, it was uncertain if he would honour his mandatory defence against Parker, but now that Usyk’s team has confirmed he will return next year, Higgins is confident the fight will happen if Parker can dispatch Fabio Wardley this weekend.

"If he doesn't fight Parker, I'd argue that he hasn't faced all of the best of the era," Higgins told Sky Sports.

"For the perfect resume, he needs the Parker fight. I'm sure he backs himself to beat anyone on earth, including Parker. Of course, he does; any boxer at this level does need to have that mindset. Parker would back himself to beat Usyk. So it would be a wonderful match-up if it happens.

“I think he's honourable and I think he would see that Joseph has earned the shot, the good old-fashioned hard way by doing the hard yards."

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Joseph Parker (left) dropped and stopped Martin Bakole in round two (Getty Images)

Higgins and Parker’s hopes will be buoyed by the fact that Usyk’s lead advisor, Sergey Lapin, has said they are looking at the winner of this weekend’s fight as the Ukrainian's next opponent, according to the Inside the Ring podcast.

Parker will, of course, have his eyes firmly on Wardley, as he is only days away from putting it all on the line against the hard-hitting Brit for the right to be the mandatory challenger upon Usyk’s return.

But Higgins is confident that Parker has too much experience at the top level to be troubled by Wardley on Saturday. Parker has shared the ring with the likes of Anthony Joshua, Zhilei Zhang, Deontay Wilder and Martin Bakole, and could use that to his advantage at the O2 Arena.

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“[Parker]He's got a massive resume with a lot of success, and we think he's at the peak of his powers at the moment,” Higgins explained. “We never take any opponent for granted, and Wardley has a massive punch. He could knock anyone out. But I think it would have to be a very bad day at the office, or a bad mistake or a bit of luck.

"Otherwise, I just think Joseph's got too much class, too much experience, too much speed, is confident on that big stage. So we're optimistic."

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Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley fight this Saturday, October 25, to become the WBO mandatory challenger to Oleksandr Usyk. Watch the fight and undercard live and exclusive on DAZN PPV. Click here for pricing and to buy now.