Promoter Eddie Hearn wants undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to agree not to fight interim IBF champion Daniel Dubois and be stripped of his title.
With the IBF belt now vacant, Hearn's boxer Anthony Joshua will face interim champion Dubois for the vacant title at Wembley Stadium on September 21. Usyk will then hold three titles – the WBA, WBC and WBO – before facing Tyson Fury in a rematch on December 21.
The winners of Joshua-Dubois and Fury-Usyk will face off for the unbeaten championship in April or May, but Hearn is hoping for a British showdown between Joshua and Fury.
Obviously, the nightmare scenario is that Dubois knocks out Joshua on September 21 and Usyk knocks Fury out of retirement on December 21, meaning Hearn misses out on a mega-fight with Joshua and has to rebuild him just like he just finished.
If Fury doesn't retire after his second loss to Usyk, then Fury and Joshua will both be going into the fight with losses. That's not an ideal scenario, but Hearn called it a ” loser Loser bracketIf Deontay Wilder doesn't retire, I would include him in the deal.
Khan's Plan
- Joshua and Dubois will fight for the vacant IBF title on September 21st.
- Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury to have second rematch on December 21 for WBA, WBC and WBO belts
- The winners of these two matches will compete for the absolute championship in April or May 2025.
What's next for the heavyweight division?
“Usyk needs to be honest and we need to be honest with him and say, 'I'm not going to fight Daniel Dubois.' Daniel Dubois is the interim coach.” [IBF] “He's the world champion, it's mandatory, Usyk has to fight him,” promoter Eddie Hearn told talkSPORT Boxing.
I can't imagine Usyk will give up his IBF title, and it's unlikely the governing body would strip him of it either. Hearn doesn't understand how unpopular it would be for the IBF to strip Usyk of his title, especially at a time when his country is going through such a difficult time, and such a move would bring the IBF negative publicity.
The IBF should allow Usyk to retain his title in a rematch against Fury, provided the winner faces the interim champion (Dubois, Joshua or whoever).
Alternative Scenarios and Outcomes
If Joshua decides not to fight Dubois for the interim IBF title on September 21, he will have to fight Zhang Zhilei or Joseph Patter without the interim belt on the line. It's a risky fight for Joshua, and he could lose to either of them. I think it would be better for Joshua to fight Dubois for the interim IBF belt.
“he [Usyk] A rematch with Fury has been arranged [on December 21st]Hearn said of Fury: “I think AJ and Dubois will fight for the IBF title. [on September 21st]Fury and Usyk fight for everything else [WBA, WBC & WBO]Then, next spring in April or May, the winners may face each other again for the championship.”
Hearn believes the IBF will strip Usyk of his title, but that seems unlikely, and the IBF would be better off letting Usyk retain the title in a rematch with Fury, then having Joshua fight Dubois to choose who will face the winner of the Fury-Usyk rematch.
If Joshua decides he doesn't want to fight Usyk after winning the fight against Dubois and beating the Gypsy King, he doesn't have to. AJ could fight Fury, but that would make him look bad. But you can't blame Joshua for not wanting to fight Usyk again after he's already been humiliated by Usyk twice.
“I don't think so, because all I'm hearing from His Excellency is that AJ could potentially fight the winner of Fury vs Usyk. [Joshua] “If Fury wins in September, we have to do the AJ fight,” Hearn said. “I'll be honest with you, if Fury wins and becomes the undisputed champion, we have to do the AJ fight.”
Usyk may follow through on his plan to vacate his four titles and return to the cruiserweight division after beating Fury in December, which would split all four titles apart and make it harder for Joshua or Fury to win them all.
Fury is extremely wealthy and appears to be happy with his life, so it's doubtful he'll stay in the running to remain unbeaten if Usyk beats the Gypsy King for a second time and relinquishes his four titles.
Joshua unwilling to fight Usyk for a third time
“AJ wants that fight where no one can beat him, so either way we have to try to get there. He'd love the chance to fight Usyk again. He's 2-0. It's a tough task but he feels he's in a much better place now and, of course, he'd love the chance to fight Tyson Fury,” Hearn said.
Hearn says Joshua wouldn't mind a rematch with Usyk, but AJ wouldn't agree – given his mental breakdown after his last loss, he might not want to face Usyk a third time and set up a boxing classic that would forever tarnish his legacy.
