Oleksandr Usyk has reigned for less than 48 hours as undisputed world heavyweight champion, but that reign - already - is almost over. Such is boxing politics.
The Ukrainian maestro gave the sport’s marquee weight class its first sole ruler in 25 long years when he outpointed Tyson Fury in that absolutely epic showdown in Riyadh on Saturday night.
But while Usyk now holds all of the sport’s heavyweight titles, it will not be that way for very long. Time to look at what happens next…
Usyk, the IBF and mandatory defences
As we told you last week in our article which ‘attempted’ to explain how boxing rankings work, it is REALLY hard to become undisputed champion. It is even harder to stay that way.
This will be proved in the coming days when Usyk is stripped of/or vacates his IBF heavyweight title. This is because the body wants him to face its mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic next (the Croat has been waiting almost two years for his title shot).
Of course Usyk is highly unlikely to choose a tricky title defence against Hrgovic over the money-spinning Fury rematch he is already contracted for. He’s 37 years old with every belt known to man in his possession, what would you do in that position?
While Usyk will remain of course the TRUE heavyweight champion in everybody’s eyes, he will no longer officially hold all the belts.
So what happens with that vacant IBF title? Well, that is likely to be up for grabs when Hrgovic faces big-punching Brit Daniel Dubois in Riyadh on June 1 as part of that Eddie Hearn vs Frank Warren 5 on 5 card.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us onto a certain Anthony Joshua.
So where does Joshua fit into all this?
Well AJ is ranked next after Hrgovic with the IBF, so he is sitting in the background waiting for the chance to become a three-time world heavyweight champion.
And that chance is likely to come at Wembley Stadium in September when he headlines the first massive Saudi-backed show to take place in the UK.
Joshua will likely face the Hrgovic vs Dubois winner with the IBF title on the line.
What next for Usyk and Fury?
As already stated, their contract was for two fights - last Saturday’s showdown in Riyadh and then an immediate rematch.
Saudi General Entertainment Authority Chairman Turki Alalshikh has already pencilled in October for that second meeting, again in Riyadh.
Unless either man decides they have achieved enough in their glittering careers and opts for retirement, expect them to run it back to kick off a new Riyadh Season.
And Fury vs Joshua, any chance?
What happened on Saturday didn’t really change the script massively here.
The only real way a Fury vs Joshua fight may have happened next was if ‘The Gypsy King’ had conclusively dismantled Usyk in their first meeting. Then the clamour for Usyk to step aside would have surely begun.
Now we are where we thought we would be. We know Turki Alalshikh desperately wants a Fury vs Joshua match, as apparently do both camps. A date - March 2025 - is reportedly pencilled in.
To make it a reality we need two things to happen: Joshua disposes of Hrgovic or Dubois in September; and Fury settles the score with Usyk in October.
If Fury loses again to Usyk, that puts a massive fly in the ointment. Yes he’d be free to fight Joshua afterwards, but the fight itself would not be nearly as marketable. No world titles, and two defeats on the spin. The shine would be off the Fury star enough to make all parties think twice.
For now, let’s relish having an undisputed champion while we can. We know it will not last long, and the wait for the next one could again be many long years.
