Oleksandr Usyk may be stripped of one of his heavyweight world titles if he does not fight the WBC number one contender following his next fight.
Usyk defeated Daniel Dubois to become a two-time undisputed heavyweight ruler back in July, but he opted to vacate the WBO crown in November, rather than face Ipswich fan-favourite Fabio Wardley.
Now, the unified champion has being linked to fights against Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz Jr. and Rico Verhoeven, ahead of an anticipated return to action in the summer, in a voluntary defence of his three remaining belts.
The WBC has granted this defence, but has in order in place that states Usyk takes on Germany’s Agit Kabayel, who has held the Interim title since last February, in the fight that follows.
In an interview with Chris Mannix, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman detailed the above.
“We are giving him a voluntary defence, he can select the best fight for him and the industry and then he will fight the Interim champion, Kabayel.”
“Usyk requested a voluntary title defence, which was granted, and Kabayel had the title defence [against Damian Knyba], he can do another fight if he likes or just wait until Usyk fights and then we will order the mandatory fight.”
Following a successful stadium event in Germany last month, Kabayel is expected to fight on home soil once again in May, as he maintains activity ahead of a long-awaited shot at the heavyweight throne. Usyk’s team have said the fight is a possibility, particularly given Kabayel’s drawing power in his home country.
