By: Sean Crose
It is clear that Tyson Fury wants to be the uninterrupted heavyweight champion of the world. However, for that to happen, the WBC and linear heavyweight champion must meet and beat the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight championship belts Oleksandr Usyk. After all, a Fury-Usyk showdown seems logical, as Usyk, like Fury, clearly wants to be the sole ruler of the heavyweight. The problem, of course, is modern boxing, which often thwarts its own progress with feuds, divisions, prejudices, and adverse bureaucratic regulations. Fortunately for Fury and Usyk, the WBC seems to be clearing the way for the two men to throw down all the proverbial marbles.
Sports sky reports Fury “will not be forced to fight a mandatory challenger prior to a bout with Usyk, the unified WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight boxer, if that bout can be followed.” That should allow Fury to breathe easier, as old nemesis Deontay Wilder is reportedly set to face his former colleague Andy Ruiz in a WBC title elimination bout. “There was real interest in Fury versus Usyk taking place,” Sports sky quoting WBC title Mauricio Sulaiman as saying, “that would be a great possibility and then the winner would have to fight the WBC mandate once that is confirmed.”
All of this means that the WBC will be willing to pause Fury facing a winner in Wilder-Ruiz, as long as that winner plays against the winner of a Fury vs Usyk fight. The idea of a Fury-Usyk vs Wilder-Ruiz victor would be an intriguing one, even if Fury finishes the fight against Wilder for the fourth time. Although Fury has beaten Wilder twice and fought him for a draw once, there is no doubt that the previous three bouts between the two men have been memorable, with each boxer fighting a lot. time.
While things may not work out in the contemporary combat scene (such as having three major belts other than the WBC), Sulaiman seems to feel like things could really go well this time around. “If that happens, it will be a great fight for the world,” he said of the Fury-Usyk fight, “and the WBC supports that as long as the opponent’s right to mandate is not violated. . So the timing right now seems very good for that to happen.” Real.
