British boxer Tyson Fury could be stripped of his WBC heavyweight title if he does not fight the winner of Anthony Joshua's fight with Deontay Wilder.
Earlier this week, British newspaper Sunsport reported that Joshua and Wilder had reached an agreement to fight in the final months of 2023, but the location and date of the fight have yet to be decided. In 2018, the two boxers had negotiated a heavyweight championship unification match, but it fell through.
The WBC recently ranked Wilder and Joshua as the number one and number two heavyweights respectively, meaning the winner of a potential fight between the two would become the next title challenger.
Therefore, according to World Boxing News , Tyson Fury will be stripped of the WBC belt if he refuses to fight the winner of the above match.
Fury at a press conference with the WBC belt. Photo: Reuters
Tyson Fury won the WBC title by defeating Wilder by technical knockout in the seventh round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in February 2020. The British boxer then defended his title by defeating Wilder by knockout in the rematch in October 2021, defeating compatriot Dillian Whyte by technical knockout in April 2022 and Derek Chisora at Wembley in December 2022.
Fury then wanted to unify all four of the most prestigious heavyweight belts with Oleksandr Usyk - the Ukrainian boxer who currently holds the WBA (Super), WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight belts, but negotiations fell through.
Therefore, Fury - the boxer nicknamed "King of the Gangsters" - has turned to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on October 28. The WBC confirmed that this match will take place under the official rules of professional boxing with 10 rounds and three judges applying a 10-point scoring system, but Fury will not lose the belt if he loses.
In August, Joshua knocked out Finnish heavyweight Robert Helenius in the seventh round at London's O2 Arena. After that, promoter Eddie Hearn revealed that Joshua planned to face Wilder and Fury in the next fights.
However, Mahmoud Omeirat Charr - the German boxer who holds the WBA heavyweight title from September 2023 - believes that Joshua is mentally unstable after losing two consecutive matches to Usyk, losing four heavyweight titles WBA (Super), WBO, IBF and IBO, and is not ready to face top boxers like Wilder or Fury.
"Joshua is mentally broken, you can see it," Charr told Seconds Out . "Joshua got knocked out in the first fight against Andy Ruiz Jr, then lost two in a row to Usyk. Joshua looks broken, needs time and is not ready for Fury, Wilder or me."
Hong Duy
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