Usyk needs to fight Parker to cement legacy, says manager David Higgins
Photo:
PHOTOSPORT
Though Joseph Parker's camp believe Oleksandr Usyk is the greatest of all time, they say there's one man left to fight in order to truly cement his legacy.
That man of course, WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker.
Usyk saw off his latest challenger on Sunday in spectacular fashion, finishing the
dangerous Daniel Dubois with a vicious fifth round knock out at Wembly.
Parker's manager David Higgins said the result confirmed the greatness of the Ukrainian.
"We knew that us one of the best ever and we saw a performance that confirmed that he was clinical the way he dispatched Dubious. And if you just look at the way Dubois clinically dispatched Joshua, that puts in perspective how good Oleksandr is."
Now with only one obvious heavyweight contender, Higgins said Parker had to be next in line.
"If he chooses to put legacy first and foremost and keeping the division unified and undisputed he'll fight Parker next, but he might use another fight that might generate more money. Heavyweight boxers at that level should be trying to win the heavyweight title to unify it. That's exactly why Joseph is boxing. So he's hoping to fight Usyk next."
Parker is also coming off a statement knockout win over Martin Bakole after Dubois was a late withdrawal from their scheduled bout.
Higgins said they aren't looking for another easy pay day.
"I don't think a tune-up fight is likely the level Parker is at and with the money involved, tune-up fights can be tricky to generate enough revenue to pay everyone and comes with the same risk of injury.
"I think it's more likely that Parker's next fight is a very big fight possibly for the world title in terms of whether it's Usyk, that's up to Usyk."
While prepared to bide their time, the Parker camp say they want the fight "sooner rather than later."
"He'd take the fight anywhere, anytime. But ideally before the end of the year and the money involved could probably only happen in the United Kingdom or Saudi Arabia."
As seen in their interaction on Sunday, there is a heap of mutual respect between Parker and Usyk.
"You can't not respect what he's done in boxing. He whitewashed the whole cruiserweight division, won Olympic gold, and now he's whitewashed the heavyweight division. He's possibly the greatest of all time."
However, Higgins believed Parker was the man to defeat the legendary Ukranian.
"With his resurgence. He's a veteran now. Just look at the names on his resume. Wilder, Zhang, Ruiz, Chisora. The list goes on."
And so does Parker.
"He definitely backs himself. He's getting better each fight. The new camp, the new team, the recipes seem right and he's just performing in the ring and getting better. So he's a very hard fight. But Joseph will back himself to beat him on the night."
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