The last undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Lennox Lewis, has labeled any other moves in the division nonsense ahead of a Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk battle.
World Boxing News reported months ago that Fury and Usyk will collide in the spring of 2023 for all the title belts at 200 pounds plus.
The only thing that could stop that is if the sanctioning bodies put immovable blockages in the way.
Currently, WBN understands that orders from the IBF, WBO, and WBA for title defenses by their respective belt holder, Usyk, will not be enforced.
So far, a deal between all sides to keep the fight for all the marbles is looking good. The WBC, representing Fury’s stake in the championships, have already cleared their mandatory path.
They have approved Deontay Wilder vs Andy Ruiz Jr. for their stipulated title shot. However, that fight is set to take place around the same time as Fury vs Usyk.
Undisputed
Now, despite the WBA claiming Daniel Dubois is next and the IBF doing likewise with Filip Hrgovic, legend Lewis urged boxing fans to drown out the white noise.
“Undisputed! Everything else is nonsense,” stated Lewis, as immaterial mandatories were put into the public domain.
Promoter Bob Arum moved to assure all that Fury vs Usyk for the undisputed championship is their only goal for the next few months.
“The two fighters have agreed to fight each other next,” Arum told Sky Sports before aiming a dig at previously failed negotiations with Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn.
Fury vs Usyk
“With Fury and Usyk, we’re dealing with two adults. Not a lot of [rubbish] back and forth. Usyk is a good friend of mine. He’s very intelligent.
“Tyson is Superman, both as an athlete and as an intellect. So they want the fight. Both of them want the fight. So there’ll be very little – if any, [messing] around.
“So we’ll be able to make that happen. I’m very, very confident. As I said, the fighters have both agreed to fight each other next without any interim fights.”
On what the next move is, Arum added: “The question is, what’s the date and what’s the site? But that fight is definitely going to happen.
“It will happen in the first four months of next year.”
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis will likely get his wish to finally see all four belts in the hands of one champion. The Briton did it back in the 1990s when the IBO belt was higher regarded than the WBO.
Holding all four versions after beating Evander Holyfield [basically twice] was the crowning glory before Lewis put the icing on his career against Mike Tyson.
Whoever comes out on top between Fury and Usyk will be universally recognized as the greatest heavyweight of the past ten years – ever since the long-reigning Klitschko brothers stifled the chances of unifying the belts when dominating the weight class.
Now is the time to get one face, name, and champion at heavyweight – if only for a few hours at least.
Fury is tipped to relinquish the IBF version almost immediately if he can defeat Usyk. The situation dates back to a falling out between both sides when Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
Should Usyk win, his first three defenses of the undisputed crown are already set in Dubois, Hrgovic, and Joe Joyce [WBO].
