The functionary said that the rematch should not interfere with the mandatory defense of the belt
The president International Boxing Federation (IBF) Daryl Peoples said that the absolute world heavyweight champion Alexander Usik obliged to defend the title with the official challenger Filip Hrgovicinstead of a rematch with former WBC champion Tyson Fury.
“It’s time to. The rule is that you cannot have a rematch clause in your contract that would interfere with your mandatory title defense. This is no secret among promoters. Everyone, more or less, knows the consequences of having these provisions. We’ve been down this road before.”
“As far as the IBF is concerned, any current champion can ask for an exception to any IBF rule. Usik has the right to do this. I don’t know why his team hasn’t done this yet.”
“I don’t know if Filip Hrgovic’s fight with Daniel Dubois will be a title fight. Now he does not claim any title. In this moment. I’m sure people make decisions behind the scenes before they come to me with anything.”
“If Usyk’s team asks for an exception, it will be submitted to the IBF board of directors. If the council grants it, special conditions are likely to apply. These are all decisions of managers and promoters.”
On the night of May 19, Usik inflicted the first defeat of Fury in his 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: 115-112, 113-114 and 114-113.
Usik became the first absolute world heavyweight champion in the era of four belts. In the heavyweight division, the last time Lennox Lewis held absolute status was in 1999, but then three titles were enough for this title.
Usyk is scheduled to defend his IBF title against mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic. The Croatian, in turn, will previously fight Daniel Dubois on June 1.
It was reported that an agreement had been reached between Usyk and Fury for a re-fight. The Chairman of the General Authority of Entertainment of Saudi Arabia, Turki Al al-Sheikh, stated that the rematch between Alexander and Tyson is scheduled for October 12-13 in Riyadh.
Source: Sportarena
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