Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to have 2 battles to identify the heavyweight champ.
Sources have actually exposed that the contract for the undeniable heavyweight title fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia consists of a rematch provision, enabling the loser of the match to ask for a 2nd bout.
Sources show that the expected date for the Fury-Usyk fight is Dec. 23, however it might be pressed to January depending upon the result of Fury’s upcoming match against Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28 in Riyadh.
“This is the most significant fight in boxing,” mentioned Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
While Fury holds the WBC belt, Usyk will safeguard his WBA, WBO, and IBF titles. Due to commitments with various approving bodies, it will be challenging for either fighter to hold all 4 titles for a prolonged duration.
Once Usyk pleased his WBA obligatory defense against Daniel Dubois in August, a rotation system for unified champs and the IBF is anticipated. The IBF has actually defined that the winner of the Fury-Usyk fight need to make a necessary defense with no stepping in bouts, without any exceptions given.
This implies that if an instant rematch happens, the IBF title will not be at stake. In that case, Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic will fight the next readily available competitor for the uninhabited IBF title.
“The IBF notified me that if I won my last fight and if Usyk beat Dubois, the IBF would implement my obligatory status to fight Usyk for the title,” stated Hrogic. “The IBF has actually now permitted Tyson Fury and Usyk to do a unification initially. The winner of that fight is mandated to fight me instantly after without any other stepping in fight, so I anticipate to fight for the heavyweight champion early next year.
“I’m dissatisfied by the hold-up, however I will stay ready and concentrated on my objective of winning the title. Whether it’s against Usyk or Fury, my time will come.”
Hrgovic, ESPN’s No. 7 heavyweight, just recently scored a 12th-round TKO over Demsey McKean in August. His career-best win was available in 2022 when he beat Zhilei Zhang (ESPN’s No. 5 heavyweight) in Saudi Arabia.
“Filip will end up being a complimentary representative, so we will seek advice from our partners, Wasserman Boxing and Eddie Hearn, concerning his future strategies,” stated Hrgovic’s supervisor, Keith Connolly. “Filip is thrilled about his future and anticipates defending the heavyweight title in 2024.”
Anthony Joshua, whom Usyk beat two times for 3 heavyweight titles, is the next readily available competitor in the IBF’s rankings after Hrgovic.
Fury, ESPN’s No. 6 pound-for-pound fighter and No. 1 heavyweight, represents England, while Usyk, ESPN’s No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter and No. 2 heavyweight, represents Ukraine.
