After his overwhelming victory against Daniel Dubois, Oleksandr Usyk appears to many observers as an unbeatable warrior among today’s heavyweights. But who has the best chance to dethrone him in a stunning upset? Two legends of the past, Lennox Lewis and Roy Jones Jr., agree on one name: Joseph Parker.
The first to share this opinion was the former British champion, who, after watching the most recent spectacular KO by the reigning division king, stated:
“I don’t see anyone in the division beating him right now. I think Joseph Parker has the best chance right now. I think they’ve been freezing Joseph Parker out. Joseph Parker needs that next fight, so get him in there. Joseph Parker has been waiting for his chance. I don’t know why he hasn’t had it yet. I think he should be the next fight.”
Echoing Lewis’ words was Roy Jones Jr., who expressed the same view during an interview with IFL TV:
“To be honest with you, and people may disagree – but I know what I’m looking at. The guy with the best chance (against Usyk) is Joseph Parker. I hope Joseph Parker fights him next. Is he next? I hope he is next, that’s gonna be a really good fight. Joseph being with Andy Lee now is really good, and it’s gonna be good for both sides. But Usyk is a beast. Usyk is not easy for anybody to beat, but I say the guy with the best chance, to me right now, is Joseph Parker.”
The WBO recently announced that it has ordered Usyk to make a mandatory defense of his world title against the New Zealander. Should he refuse, the Ukrainian would be stripped of one of his four world championship belts.
Turki Alalshikh, however, has poured some cold water on the excitement by hinting that Riyadh Season is not interested in promoting a bout between Usyk and Parker. Still, there’s nothing preventing the fight from being arranged outside the Saudi promotional circuit.