The decision on the next title defense will be made by the organization’s board of governors.
The president WBC Mauricio Sulaiman clarified the situation with the contenders for the heavyweight title, which is held by the Ukrainian Alexander Usik.
“The WBC has sanctioned Usyk’s first fight against Tyson Fury with a rematch. The second fight is scheduled to take place in December and after that the WBC currently has absolutely no mandatory challenger of any kind.”
“The WBC sanctioned an eliminator fight between Agit Kabayel and Frank Sanchez at the request of the promoters. Agit beat Frank, who had been in the top ranks for many years and looked great.”
“So Kabayel has already won twice in Saudi Arabia, both by knockout, and both were against top-five opponents. He absolutely deserves to be given the privileged position. As I mentioned, the WBC only has the Fury-Usyk rematch. Anything beyond that will be up to the governing board.”
On the night of May 19, Usyk inflicted the first defeat of Tyson Fury’s professional career in a fight that took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). The victory was awarded to the Ukrainian by a split decision of the judges: 115-112, 113-114 and 114-113.
Alexander became the first absolute heavyweight champion in the four-belt era. In the heavyweight division, the last time the absolute title was held was by Lennox Lewis in 1999, but back then three titles were enough to win the title.
Usyk subsequently issued a statement in which he announced that he would give the IBF belt to the winner of the British derby between his two former opponents in the ring – Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua.. Thus, Alexander lost the status of absolute world champion in heavyweight, which he held for more than a month.
Usyk and Fury have reached an agreement for a rematch. The “Gypsy King” has officially activated the rematch option. The second fight between Alexander and Tyson will take place on December 21, 2024, in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said he would seek the introduction of video replays in this fight.
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.
