Joseph Parker's team are positioning the Kiwi heavyweight to fight for his old WBO crown should current champion Anthony Joshua vacate the title for a lucrative showdown against fellow Brit Tyson Fury.
While Parker, ranked third in the WBO, is preparing for his rescheduled bout against fellow Kiwi Junior Fa, his manager David Higgins has one eye on a future title clash with Oleksandr Usyk. And their hopes were given a boost last weekend when the No 2-ranked Daniel Dubois suffered a knockout loss to Joe Joyce.
Usyk is the WBO's mandatory challenger and any potential bout against Parker would depend on Joshua defending his WBO, IBF and WBA titles against Kubrat Pulev on December 12, and then vacating the WBO strap.
Such a scenario is not out of the question, with speculation that Joshua and WBC king Fury could agree to meet next year. Higgins has been making moves to ensure Parker is in pole position should the opportunity arise.
"If AJ vacates, we would love to fight Usyk for the vacant title and it's a matter I've specifically discussed with (Usyk's team) Egis Klimas and Alexander Krassyuk," Higgins told the Sky Sports UK.
"They are good people, the team around Usyk. I've done business with Krassyuk before and he was straightforward to deal with. They said that they would like to see that fight happen and so would we.
"Joseph will be putting his hand up hard and fast and jump at any opportunity to fight for a title again.
"It's a matter of seeing how the cards fall with Joshua and the WBO, but we've already written to the WBO, putting forward our lobbying case. They have been wonderful to work with and they are one of the better sanctioning bodies. We hope that opportunity comes."
The WBO rankings have yet to be updated following Dubois' defeat. But Higgins says Parker's status as a former WBO champion and high level of opposition makes an excellent case for him to be reinstated to No 2 behind Usyk.
He faces competition from Joyce, who improved his record 12-0 with last week's 10th-round KO victory.
Having handed Dubois his first loss, Joyce's manager Sam Jones says his fighter should also take his ranking, despite currently sitting at 11th in WBO.
"I hope Joshua does vacate and we'll fight Usyk – Joe is very confident in that fight as well," Jones told Sky Sport.
"Rightfully, Joe should take Dubois' No 2 slot.
"If the belt becomes vacant, Usyk would have to fight Joe for the title."
It could be that if Joshua does vacate the belt, the WBO could order an eliminator bout between Parker and Joyce with the winner going on to meet Usyk.
While Higgins was adamant that Parker was the logical choice to move up to No 2 with a win over Fa, he was not opposed to the idea.
"If you look at the resume, you can build a strong case around Joseph," Higgins said. "Joseph will fight anyone, including Joe Joyce."