WBO President Gustavo Olivieri has outlined the steps WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk must take if he wishes to postpone his mandatory fight against WBO interim champion Joseph Parker.
"The WBO has mandated Usyk to fulfill his mandatory title defense in the heavyweight division against Parker, following established regulations.
However, if a petition is submitted requesting to postpone the mandatory defense in order to pursue a unification fight, that decision would need to be approved by the Championship Committee.
The committee, under its authority, has the discretion to grant such a request," said Olivieri.
Usyk has previously stated that his main goal for the next fight is a unification bout with Daniel Dubois. Meanwhile, Parker recently issued a humorous callout to Usyk, using a song to challenge him to a fight.