Less than a week ago, information surfaced that negotiations for a boxing mega-fight between WBA, WBO and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk and WBC king Tyson Fury were on track. The completion of the final agreement was even estimated in weeks, but now the promoters of the fight for the undisputed heavyweight king have to deal with other problems. The WBA organization, whose champion is the Ukrainian Usyk, pushed into the game.
One of the four main boxing associations ordered Usyk to make a mandatory defense against Daniel Dubois. Even so, it is expected that the only twenty-five-year-old Briton should not be a serious obstacle on the way to negotiations. This is the second similar “problem” in a short period of time, the first one came from the IBF organization, which appointed Croatian Filip Hrgovic as the mandatory challenger for Usyk.
Despite Usyk and Fury being in negotiations for an undisputed heavyweight title fight in early-2023, the WBA has order a fight between Usyk and Dubois ???? pic.twitter.com/sHBtlQd2Es
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) December 13, 2022
The promoters of all organizations will have to act in this way. The most likely scenario is to offer a hefty severance package to clear the way for Hrgovic and Dubois, who would suddenly not prevent the fight for the undisputed heavyweight king. There is also speculation that Usyk would relinquish his IBF and WBA championships, which would make the subsequent fight with Fury illogical.
An important piece of information is the fact that both Dubois and Fury belong to the same Queensbury Promotions boxing stable, and the agreement on the withdrawal of the former could be concluded much more easily than with Crovat Hrgovic. The 30-year-old native of Zagreb, for a change, belongs to the Matchroom stable, whose promoter Eddie Hearn has long firmly stood by the fact that Usyk must first defend before an undisputed fight.
“It was ordered by the IBF. We’ve already said we’re not willing to negotiate anything,” promoter Hearn recently told IFL TV. “I want an immediate purse bid to decide who will be the organizer of the fight. It’s a process that’s consistent with IBF rules. That means you can’t make an exception,” continued the 43-year-old Hearn, who insists Hrgovic won’t back down.
This well and truly puts ‘Undisputed’ in Queensbury Promotions hands. With Eddie talking Hrgovic and IBF mandatories FW needed this to keep it on track. I don’t believe for one second we see Dubois v Usyk next, do we? https://t.co/02fRt8sEIb
— David Corner – Undisputed Fight Talk (@DCornerBoxing) December 13, 2022
According to Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas, everything was on the right track until a few days ago. The fight between his protégé and the undefeated Tyson Fury should most likely take place in Saudi Arabia. “We’re almost done, there’s not much to talk about. Two heavyweights, the best in the sport today, battling for the undisputed king of the heavyweight division. That’s what the fans need,” Klimas said.
“Most likely it will be no later than March 4 and it looks like it will take place in the Middle East. During the negotiations, however, other options came up, such as London or Qatar. But it really looks like we’re heading to Saudi Arabia, who are very interested in this match. They love Usyk there,” added the manager. Apparently, February 18, February 25 or March 4 are the dates that come into consideration.
Will one of the greatest boxing duels of all time really come to an agreement?
