Like most of the movers and shakers of the heavyweight division, top contender Joseph Parker and his team will be watching this Saturday’s fight between Moses Itauma and Dillian Whyte with great interest. And, as Parker’s manager, David Higgins, explained when speaking with Sky Sports, there is a good chance Parker, the current interim WBO champ, could fight Itauma for the full belt.
Will Usyk Vacate His WBO Heavyweight Belt?
This is, of course, providing Itauma defeats Whyte, and if reigning four-belt champion Oleksandr Usyk does what Higgins says he thinks he will and vacates the WBO belt. Usyk was recently ordered by the WBO to defend against Parker, but Higgins says there has been “no noise, no engagement, no negotiation from Usyk’s team.”
Higgins says he doesn’t think Usyk has any interest in fighting Parker and that he will indeed vacate the WBO belt. And Higgins says his guy Parker, 36-3(24) could fight Itauma, who is ranked at #1 by the WBO, with the full belt on the line.
Higgins: Parker Could Fight Moses Itauma Next
“All thinking and wisdom is that Usyk doesn’t want to defend his WBO world title. That is the feeling,” Higgins said. “In terms of what is next, Joseph has never shied away from anyone. Be it Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, or Bakole at short notice. I think Joseph will fight Moses Itauma; it’s just a matter of when. Moses is young and doesn’t have the resume that Joseph has, and so it’s just how the cards fall and how the cards fall and whether it’s the right move.”
But again, it all depends on whether or not Itauma, 12-0(10) and still only 20 years of age, comes through his biggest test to date against the hugely experienced Whyte, 31-3(21). As far as Usyk is concerned, nobody knows what the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer will opt to do next. Maybe Usyk will fight Parker, maybe not.
Is Moses Itauma Ready for Joseph Parker?
But if Itauma does do a number on Whyte (who holds a win over Parker), will he then feel he is ready for someone of Parker’s pedigree? Who wins if Itauma and Parker do rumble later on this year?