Joseph Parker, the WBO interim heavyweight boxing champion, believes that despite his ranking, he's not the front-runner for a bout with but is setting his sights on instead. After a stunning knockout win against Martin Bakole in Saudi Arabia - a last-minute replacement for the unwell Daniel Dubois - the 33-year-old Kiwi issued a challenge to Usyk for the championship title.

Parker has defeated notable opponents including Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, and now Bakole, yet hasn't held a heavyweight championship since his 2018 defeat by Joshua for the unified titles. Despite a strong case for seeking a title fight, Usyk ruled out a clash with Parker, expressing his intent to face Dubois for the IBF title in pursuit of a second undisputed heavyweight championship.

Faced with dwindling chances against Usyk, Parker then acknowledged his desire for a rematch with Joshua.

Speaking on the , a clearly frustrated Parker remarked: "It feels like we are so close to fighting for real titles and then, all of a sudden, he [Dubois] got sick and now they are lining up this big fight between Usyk and Dubois. I'm not sure what we need to do in order to lock in a championship of the world fight.

"I think we have done everything asked of us and hopefully we can lock it in soon. I would love the opportunity just to test myself against Usyk. He is a great fighter and I'd love to see what I am capable of doing against someone like that.

"If I could fight someone, it would be Usyk. Dubois, we did have that fight locked in and he pulled out, still with no explanation. Any of those two would be amazing," the Kiwi boxer stated, expressing his desire to take on either Usyk or Dubois.

Asked if he believes he could be lined up to take on Usyk, he continued: "Not too confident that, that'll be next. That'll be best if that did happen, but, as you know, boxing has a lot of things that happen behind the scenes that we don't really know and we don't really hear off.

"There's things always being lined up. But I am not sure [a fight against Usyk] will happen next. I honestly have no idea who will be next, but I would fight anyone and everyone to get my chance to fight for the championship of the world.

"So not too sure. What can we do? What should we do in this kind of situation? Do we set it out and wait for the winner of that fight [Usyk vs Dubois] or do we keep busy and keep progressing and keep fighting other top fighters?" he pondered about his future steps in the sport.

With his preferred opponents, Usyk and Dubois, potentially facing each other instead, the former WBO world champion hinted at a possible rematch with Joshua, saying: "But, as we focus on myself and my career, I think those three names [Usyk, Dubois, Joshua] will be the next in line."

Interest from Joshua's camp in a fight with Parker was also mentioned, as before Dubois withdrew from their scheduled bout, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn had indicated an interest in having the British Olympic gold medallist face the winner.

The Matchroom boss declared on February 18: "AJ wants to become world heavyweight champion again. So the winner of Dubois and Parker is a real possibility. But AJ is gonna fight again, he wants to get back in the ring. He wants to compete."

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