Given that the heavyweight division recently crowned its first undisputed champion in 25 years, one would expect order to be restored in boxing. Unbeaten Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk is now the holder of every legitimate title, so all is well with the world, right? Wrong!
Controversy continues to revolve around the IBF version of the championship. In the lead-up to Usyk’s epic 12-round split decision triumph over Tyson Fury in Riyadh on May 18, it was widely expected that the winner would relinquish or be stripped of the IBF title. This would allow Daniel Dubois and Filip Hrgovic to fight for the vacant crown on June 1, again in Riyadh. The winner of that fight could then move on to a money-spinning showdown with Anthony Joshua later in the year.
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However, those plans took a hit late last week when it was reported by The Ring’s Jake Donovan that Team Usyk had applied for an exception to avoid being stripped of the IBF championship. Given that he’s been trying to consolidate the heavyweight titles for years, one can understand Usyk’s position here. The 37-year-old lefty hopes that he can defend the full undisputed championship against Fury in their contractually agreed rematch, either late this year or the beginning of next.
So where does that leave Hrgovic and Dubois? Where does that leave AJ? The Sporting News investigates:
Why would the IBF strip Oleksandr Usyk of their title?
In August 2022, Filip Hrgovic scored a razor-thin 12-round unanimous decision win over China’s Zhilei Zhang in Jeddah. That victory saw the Croatian star installed as the IBF mandatory challenger and he was in perfect place for a world title shot.
However, due to the huge amount of time it took Fury and Usyk to come together for their undisputed championship fight, Hrgovic has remained on the outside looking in. He has stayed active, posting stoppage wins over Demsey McKean and Mark Di Mori, but the 31-year-old boxer-puncher is desperate for a title fight.
On Tuesday, when he was advised by Charlie Parsons of The Stomping Ground that the vacant belt may not be up for grabs in his bout with Dubois, frustrations boiled over.
(Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
“What do you mean isn’t [for the vacant belt]?” snapped Hrgovic. “It should be for the belt, man, what are you talking about? It is. That’s what I heard. I mean, that was the plan from the beginning, so what changed now? I expect it to be for the title. That’s what I was told.”
The IBF has yet to confirm their position on the matter.
Will Anthony Joshua fight Dubois vs. Hrgovic winner?
If there’s an opportunity to fight for a world title, then Joshua is sure to jump at it. AJ harbours hopes of becoming a three-time heavyweight champion and a matchup with the Dubois-Hrgovic winner was high on the priority list.
However, without a title at stake, it’s conceivable that Joshua may change course.
“The plan is for AJ to become a three-time world champion. Obviously, he wants to fight for undisputed again,” Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told The Sporting News last week.
“Going into [the Fury vs. Usyk] fight we knew that we’d probably be fighting September time, probably be fighting the winner of Hrgovic against Dubois but also with an outside chance of fighting the winner of the undisputed, especially if it was Tyson Fury.
“It wasn’t, it was Oleksandr Usyk they have a rematch clause and the rematch is a big, big fight. The only way AJ can fight the winner of that fight is if someone is injured or not ready.
“The whole event [Joshua at Wembley] will be huge. It will be six years since he last boxed at Wembley and if it’s for the world title it’ll be absolutely massive. There’s still be a lot of work to do but that’s the hope and the focus of AJ’s next fight.”
