Paulie Malignaggi names ‘odd man out’ who deserves Oleksandr Usyk title shot

Malignaggi has given his view on the heavyweight landscape, with undisputed king Usyk considering his next move

Paulie Malignaggi has named the heavyweight contender he wants to see face Oleksandr Usyk next.

The former two-weight world champion will be returning to the ring himself on Saturday night when he takes on Britain’s Tyler Goodjohn in a bare-knuckle fight in Leeds.

But Malignaggi remains heavily involved in boxing as an analyst and has been keeping a close eye on the heavyweight division. Usyk is currently pondering his next move after knocking out Daniel Dubois, and an interim world title fight between Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley is due to take place on October 25 to determine his next challenger.

Rumours have emerged that Usyk may not fight the winner and could instead vacate his WBO belt to pursue a more financially lucrative bout. But Malignaggi believes Parker should get his chance to become a two-time champion if he can get past Wardley.

“I think Parker has been deserving for a while,” Malignaggi said. “He’s sort of the odd man out. He keeps performing and not getting his shot. I hope to see him get his shot soon.

“Maybe he’s not as exciting as the Dubois’ of the world, who are getting shots, but I’d like to see him get a shot while he’s still at a prime age.”

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Joseph Parker celebrates his early knockout of Martin Bakole (Getty Images)

Parker held the WBO title between 2016 and 2018 before losing a unification fight with Anthony Joshua.

He has since worked his way back into title contention and won his last six fights – a run that has seen him beat Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole.

At 33, Parker appears to be at the peak of his powers, but Malignaggi doesn’t want him to wait around much longer when he could start to show signs of decline.

“If you keep marinating him, he may get upset in a fight where he wasn’t supposed to because it’s hard to keep getting motivated and keep being disappointed,” Malignaggi added.

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Usyk is five years older than Parker and is now a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion after previously ruling the cruiserweight division.

Malignaggi would like to see the Ukrainian great walk away while he is still at the top but feels Parker should be next in line if Usyk opts to fight on.

“I’d like to see him (Usyk) retire,” Malignaggi admitted. “He’s not getting any younger, so I think it’s risky as you get older.

“But who am I to tell another grown man what to do? Especially if he’s performing the way he’s been performing. I do hope Parker gets a shot, though. Let’s see how he gets on against Wardley, I don’t want to overlook Wardley. But you expect Parker to come through Wardley and then we’ll see.”

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