It's decided! Serhiy Lapin announces Oleksandr Usyk's next opponent
Kenley Ward
Dailysports's expert
This is going to be a mega-fight.
Details: In an interview with the YouTube channel Boxing King Media, Oleksandr Usyk's team manager Serhiy Lapin revealed the Ukrainian's next opponent:
"We have the WBO belt—the first title Oleksandr ever won. We have the rules. We need to talk with the team, and the next opponent is Parker. Doesn’t this fight deserve to take place in Saudi Arabia? We’ll see where we hold it and what happens next," Lapin stated.
Previously, both sides were given a 30-day negotiation window before the process would move to a purse bid. However, Usyk requested more time, citing the need to recover from injuries.
Serhiy Lapin also believes Parker has earned this shot, having defeated Martin Bakole, Zhilei Zhang, and Deontay Wilder in the past 18 months to become the interim WBO heavyweight champion.
Reminder: The WBO granted Usyk a delay in negotiations with Parker