Tony Bellew backs Joseph Parker for Oleksandr Usyk title shot

Following the news that Oleksandr Usyk is set to fight Daniel Dubois in July 2025, Tony Bellew had his say on who he believes is most deserving of a shot at Ukrainian's world titles.

There is no doubt that Oleksandr Usyk is the most complete heavyweight on the planet as things stand, and after successive victories over Tyson Fury, it's no surprise to see a queue forming for a shot at his belts.

It's Daniel Dubois who appears to be next in line to fight the Ukrainian, looking to amend his defeat to Usyk suffered in August 2023 via knockout.

While no one can deny the impressiveness of Dubois' rise, there seems to be an overarching feeling that Joseph Parker is overdue a title shot.

Arguably written off for a short period when falling to back-to-back defeats against Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, the New Zealander has seemingly improved with age, with his only defeat since 2018 coming to Joe Joyce in 2022.

Since December 2023, Parker has defeated Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang and Martin Bakole in relatively convincing fashion.

He will hope a fight against Usyk is just around the corner, but let's hear what former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew had to say about the matter when speaking on talkSPORT.

"I believe if we're being totally honest that Joseph Parker is the one who's been more deserving.

"Joseph Parker is the most deserving person in the whole world for a title fight."

When asked which of Dubois or Parker would give Usyk the bigger problems, Bellew said: "From a boxing perspective I think Joseph Parker gives him more to think about, but from a power point of view Daniel Dubois is a mean machine."

• Oleksandr Usyk v Daniel Dubois 2 expected to be announced for July 12

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Ellis Statham

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