Revealed: Why Oleksandr Usyk will be STRIPPED of undisputed world heavyweight title despite beating Tyson Fury
- Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury via split decision after an enthralling fight
- Usyk was crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world
- However, Usyk won’t hold the title of undisputed champion for much longer
Oleksandr Usyk is on the verge of losing his title as undisputed heavyweight champion of the world despite beating Tyson Fury.
The Ukrainian defeated the Gypsy King in a blockbuster clash on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, winning via split decision after the judges scored the fight 115-112, 113-114, 114-113.
It meant Usyk unified the heavyweight division after taking the WBC title from Fury, which was added to his WBA (Super), WBO, IBF and IBO titles.
However, the Ukrainian is set to be stripped of the IBF title in the coming weeks, with the 37-year-old instead focusing on a contracted rematch with Fury, expected to take place around October.
This is because Filip Hrgovic, Usyk’s mandatory challenge for the IBF title, will not wait for that rematch to take place, meaning the IBF title will be vacated by Usyk and then up for grabs when Hrgovic takes it in June this year will face Daniel Dubois. year.
Oleksandr Usyk is in danger of losing his world title, despite beating Tyson Fury on Saturday evening
Usyk defeated the Gypsy King via split decision after an impressive performance in Saudi Arabia
The victory made the Ukrainian the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world
Whoever wins that fight in June is expected to face Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September.
This means that by the time of Usyk and Fury’s rematch, the winner of that fight will not be the unified world champion as they will miss out on the IBF crown.
It would then be up to the winner whether they would try to win that back to unite the divisions again.
After the fight, however, the issue of losing the IBF title did not seem to be something that Usyk was particularly concerned about.
The Ukrainian was tired after enduring an extra-long build-up to the fight with Fury when the bout’s original date of February 17 was postponed due to the Gypsy King suffering a nasty cut above his eye during training.
Usyk will have to vacate his IBF title as mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic will not wait for his rematch with Fury, with the Croatian set to face Daniel Dubois next month
The winner of Dubois (pictured) or Hrgovic is then expected to face Anthony Joshua
“I’m not thinking about boxing right now, please,” Uysk said when asked if he wanted to do it again with Fury.
‘My camp started in September 2023, I worked for nine months. I missed Happy New Year, I missed my son’s birthday, I missed my other son’s birthday, I missed my daughter’s birthday and then my daughter’s birth.
“I’ve also missed family vacations. I was only focused on this fight, now I’m happy and I want to go back home.”