Usik will retain his status as the absolute world champion.
The president WBC Mauricio Sulaiman commented on the IBF’s decision to create the status of “interim” world champion. It is for this title that the fight will be held Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs).
“The WBC has been outspoken on this issue for a long time. We have decided to sanction the first fight between Usik and Fury, as well as the rematch, as requested by the fighters’ promoters. Oleksandr Usyk is the WBC champion and will enter the rematch as a champion.”
“I am very pleased and congratulate the IBF on creating the interim title. This is a way to find an option to keep Oleksandr Usyk as the undisputed champion. I think that’s fair. The IBF finally understood the greatness of this matter. It’s a win-win situation. There is no downside to their decision.”
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has officially designated the Hrgovic-Dubois fight as an interim IBF title fight. The decision means the IBF will not vacate the belt and award it to the winner of the Hrgovic-Dubois fight. Ukrainian Alexander Usik will retain the title of absolute world champion.
The fight between Hrgovic and Dubois will take place on June 1 in Saudi Arabia. Also as part of a large-scale boxing evening, a fight between Deontay Wilder and Zhang Zhilei will take place.
Dubois knocked out Jarrell Miller in December 2023. Hrgovic defeated Mark De Mori from Australia by technical knockout in the first round as part of the same boxing evening in Riyadh.
IBF President Daryl Peoples previously stated that Usyk is obliged to defend his title against official challenger Hrgovic before he fights Tyson Fury again. The Ukrainian’s team appealed to the IBF with a request to postpone the fight with Hrgovic.
Source: Sportarena
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
