Hearn: Parker-Chisora Winner Could Fight Whoever Wins Usyk-Joyce For WBO Title

Eddie Hearn doesn’t simply see Joseph Parker-Dereck Chisora as an entertaining heavyweight fight that needed to be rescheduled.

The British promoter suspects that the winner of their 12-round match May 1 will be well-positioned to fight for the WBO championship in the foreseeable future.

“If you look at the WBO’s rankings, Joseph Parker’s right there,” Hearn told Sky Sports. “You know, the winner of that fight, I believe, will move to number two in the WBO. And if the WBO title becomes vacated, the winner will go on and fight the winner of Usyk against Joe Joyce for the world title. So, a lot in play for those guys.”

New Zealand’s Parker (28-2, 21 KOs), who lost the WBO belt to Anthony Joshua nearly three years ago, is ranked third by the WBO. London’s Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) is the WBO’s 15th-ranked challenger for Joshua’s championship.

The WBO has already ordered a bout between its number one contender, Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs), and second-ranked Brit Joe Joyce (12-0, 11 KOs) for its interim title.

The winner of the Joshua-Tyson Fury fight, assuming it happens later this year, would be obligated to face the Usyk-Joyce winner. Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) and Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) are expected to fight for Fury’s WBC crown and Joshua’s IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO championships.

If the Joshua-Fury winner decided to vacate the WBO belt, the Usyk-Joyce victor probably would then be required to face whoever emerges victorious in the Parker-Chisora contest.

“For Chisora, it is absolutely last chance saloon,” Hearn said. “You know, [Chisora] has just put in the most incredible performances, hasn’t he, against Dillian Whyte, against Carlos Takam, against Usyk out last time in a great fight. And him against Parker, the styles are gonna mix beautifully. And big rewards for the winner.”

Parker, 29, and Chisora, 37, were first scheduled to square off in October 2019 at O2 Arena in London. A spider bite prohibited Parker from training properly and he was forced to withdraw from his fight with Chisora, who knocked out Parker’s replacement, England’s David Price (25-7, 20 KOs), in the fourth round.

Now they’ll headline a Sky Sports Box Office pay-per-view event May 1 at a site to be announced.

That card also will feature Katie Taylor, the undisputed women’s lightweight champ. Ireland’s Taylor (17-0, 6 KOs) is set to defend her IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO crowns against England’s Natasha Jonas (9-1-1, 7 KOs).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.