The options change almost daily. One day it’s Oleksandr Usyk. The next day it’s not. The dizzying merry-go-round of speculation leaves heavyweight contender Joseph Parker with only one sure thing. He waits.
Parker trainer Kevin Barry is less confident that the former titleholder will fight Usyk anytime soon.
“It’s looking least likely now that fight is going to happen,” Barry told Sky Sports.
Instead, Barry said Parker will look for other possibilities, including a bout with Derek Chisora. Parker, who is training in Las Vegas for a fight Feb. 29 against a still unknown foe on a DAZN card featuring Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas in Frisco, Texas, appeared to be in line for a title fight against Usyk.
But recent talks between Usyk promoter and Anthony Joshua, Barry said, indicate that Usyk will probably wait for Joshua’s expected mandatory title defense against Kubrat Pulev in the spring. Negotiations are ongoing.
If Joshua wins as expected, Usyk would be next in line for a shot at one of Joshua’s belts, Barry said. Joshua has shown no willingness to relinquish any of his belts. Likewise, there’s been no move from any of the acronyms that they plan to strip him. Instead, there has been talk that Joshua is trying to swing a deal that he’ll fight Deontay Wilder after his rematch with Tyson Fury Feb. 22 on Fox/ESPN+ pay-per-view.
“I honestly believe what we’re going to see is Usyk (wait) and he will fight Joshua in the summer, providing Joshua blows out Pulev, which he should look spectacular doing,’’ Barry said. “I would love nothing more than the opportunity for us to fight Usyk. But the reality of it is, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”