Earlier today, Oleksandr Usyk achieved undisputed heavyweight glory as he defeated Tyson Fury via split decision at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. However, it seems the Ukrainian won’t be the undisputed champion for long.
Earlier this week, boxing journalist Dan Rafael reported that the winner of ‘Ring of Fire’ would hold the undisputed championship for less than two weeks, which is even shorter than the reign of the previous undisputed champion, Lennox Lewis, who held the belt for five months.
Per the report, the contracts mandate that the winner of the bout vacates the IBF title ahead of long-time mandatory Filip Hrgovic’s upcoming fight against former WBA world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.
Hrgovic has been the mandatory for the IBF belt for around 18 months. Dubois and ‘El Animal’ will lock horns on June 1 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
According to Saudi Arabia’s chairman of General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, the winner will face Anthony Joshua in September.
Interestingly, Hrgovic (17-0) is yet to fight for a major world title in his pro career. The Croatian commands a high finish rate with 14 of his wins having come via knockout.
Meanwhile, Dubois (20-2) is often considered one of the most entertaining heavyweights of the generation. He has had 19 of his 20 wins come via knockout.
However, there is one way the newly minted undisputed king can temporarily keep his titles a bit longer. According to a report by The Sun, if the ‘Ring of Fire’ lives up to the hype and makes a case for a rematch, all belts could be retained for such a bout.
Watch the highlights of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury below:
Since Fury vs. Usyk was a close one according to the scorecards, a rematch is sure to be in the works and the undisputed champion might yet keep his titles for longer than two weeks. In this case, Hrgovic vs. Dubois will be for an interim title.
