Deontay Wilder could be set for a sensational shot at the WBC heavyweight title by the end of the year after rival Tyson Fury’s recent admission.
Fury could be stripped of the WBC heavyweight title in 2023 after a recent exposal on his boxing career, World Boxing News understands.
“The Gypsy King” moved to completely dismiss another boxing fight in the wake of facing ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou this October.
World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman gave Fury a special dispensation to face Ngannou as there is no mandatory challenger to his green belt.
However, once the Ngannou event is over and done with, Sulaiman expects Fury to make a defense of his crown. If Fury shows no intention, the WBC heavyweight title could be vacant by November or December.
Deontay Wilder is next in line for the vacant WBC title
Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua are next in line, meaning they could face each other for the vacant belt. If Wilder vs Joshua isn’t agreed by then, the WBC would sanction Wilder against the next available contender.
Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez sit at three and four, respectively.
The shocking turn of events transpires after Fury gave an interview to the UK’s Daily Mail. In the conversation, the two-time top-division champion labels facing a boxer as ‘s***’ when he can make more money facing MMA stars in Saudi Arabia.
There is no intention to defend by Tyson Fury
“Nope, I am not interested in fighting Usyk. He’s a little Ukrainian dosser. That’s all he is to me. No interest in unifying the division. It doesn’t mean s*** to me,” Fury told The Daily Mail.
“All that stuff about unifying and whatever doesn’t mean anything to me. I am looking for the biggest payday. Most of the time, Usyk doesn’t cut it [with commanding big money].
“He’s just a foreign person who doesn’t speak good English, so you can’t sell him. I am looking for probably another American. Probably looking to fight Jon Jones [another UFC champion] in a boxing fight.”
In another slight to his boxing career, Fury said he may decide to have a rematch with Ngannou in a cage. That’s despite previously stating he would never fight under MMA rules.
“I would fight Francis Ngannou in the cage. I would kick his a** in the cage and the ring,” added Fury.
“Haters are going to hate. I am getting a bag. I am getting a big bag, too. So I won’t feel bad when I am cashing my cheque in.
“I won’t care when I am eating ice cream and marshmallows all day drinking Pina Coladas. I’m not thinking, ‘What about those boxers?'”
Sulaiman and the WBC will now come under increasing pressure to act as Fury has stated he’s got no intention of defending the title in the coming months.
His last defense was Derek Chisora in December 2022. If there’s no gravitation towards putting the WBC title on the line within twelve months, the WBC will be forced to react accordingly.
