Doubts have been raised as to whether the winner of the undisputed unification clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will be able to retain the four major sanctioning body belts. Fury’s promoters Frank Warren and Bob Arum have both aired concerns that mandatories will halt the potential of a long-reigning undisputed champion especially if there is a rematch clause signed into the deal.
Hinting at the possibility of there being two fights between the pair, Warren told talkSPORT he was unsure if all the belts will be on the line if Fury and Usyk were to fight again in a rematch. He said: “I’m not sure [about the rematch]. I mean we haven’t got into that, but I probably think there would be [a rematch clause] because, God forbid, one of them gets a cut eye or anything goes wrong – anything can happen in boxing as we know -then there would be.
“The four belts are on the line, and the winner gets them. If there is a rematch, I don’t think then the four belts will be on the line for it cause I don’t think the governing bodies will allow it. I think they’ll just say ‘right, you’ve got to get on with your mandatories now.’”
The fight – which is being targeted for a date between February 18 and March 4 – was nearly halted after the WBA and IBF ordered Usyk to defend his belts against their respective mandatory challengers Daniel Dubois (WBA) and Filip Hrgovic (IBF). However, Dubois – who is at the front of the queue – recently tore his ACL in his last bout against Kevin Lerena and is expected to be sidelined for six months.
“We’ll keep the belts unified at least for this fight what happens afterwards, god knows what happens.”
The Middle East is the preferred location for the blockbuster showdown with representatives currently in discussions with three Middle Eastern nations about the possibility of playing host to the fight. Wembley has been mentioned as the clear backup option with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium also being mentioned by Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk.
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