Following a breakdown in negotiations with Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury has yet to announce his next opponent, and he may be told to fight Anthony Joshua or risk losing his belt. Anthony Joshua has been nominated as a candidate to become the mandatory challenger to Tyson Fury’s WBC world heavyweight belt, perhaps forcing the two to meet.
Following Fury’s past failures to reach an agreement to face Oleksandr Usyk in a unification fight, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has hinted that a mandatory challenger could be named. Joshua, ranked third by the WBC, returned to the ring in April, knocking out Jermaine Franklin to avenge two losses to Usyk.
The WBC’s board is led by Sulaiman, and the sanctioning body has the power to push Fury’s hand as he schedules his next fight. The 34-year-old has held the WBC championship since defeating Deontay Wilder in February 2020, but Sulaiman has now demanded action, threatening Fury with losing his world champion status if he does not comply.”We have to take some action,” Sulaiman stated to Sky Sports. “There are various alternatives. I’m going to discuss this with the board of governors because we’re now in June and there’s no plan. Tyson Fury will make us proud and demonstrate who the World Boxing Council champion is.
Fury has not fought since December, with his past two victories coming via knockout over Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora. He will now be anticipated to face one of the top contenders, with the original plan being for the winner of the fight between Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz to be the last eliminator for a bout with Fury.
However, that fight has also fallen through, and Sulaiman has continued to detail the issue in light of the recent events, including an explanation of Joshua’s potential. When asked if Fury’s next opponent could be Joshua, Sulaiman answered, “That’s a possibility.” If Wilder and Ruiz aren’t battling for the final spot, Joshua is close behind them at No. 3. That is a possibility.
“I don’t want to speculate because that would be irresponsible to try to make something up. We have to go through a process. The WBC Board of Governors will make that decision.
“At this stage anything is possible. There’s too much talent, too many great fights, too many great combinations that could be made for heavyweight, and everything is stalled.”
Recent days have seen talks reignited for Fury to face Usyk, with the Ukrainian signing with a new promotional company in a bid to secure a deal to make the biggest fight of his career. The 35-year-old has not fought since beating Joshua in Saudi Arabia in August and is believed to have Fury in his sights as he plans to put his WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles on the line.
He will, however, have to fight before then, with the mandatory challenger for his WBA belt being the WBA (Regular) champion Daniel Dubois, with their fight expected to take place in August.
