By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Eddie Hearn expects Anthony Joshua to have a chance to win back each of the four heavyweight titles he lost to Andy Ruiz Jr.
The only potential problem is that Joshua, had he defeated Ruiz on Saturday night, was expected to make a mandatory defense of the IBF championship against Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev in his following fight. Hearn had discussed the possibility of putting together a Joshua-Pulev fight for October or November with representatives of Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., Pulev’s promoter.
Now that England’s Joshua has lost his titles to Ruiz, Hearn doesn’t think Ruiz will lose one of those championships prior to their immediate rematch. The second bout between Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs), of Imperial, California, and Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs), of Watford, England, likely will take place in October or November at a stadium somewhere in the United Kingdom.
Even if the IBF threatens to strip Ruiz and afford Pulev the opportunity to fight another ranked opponent for its vacant heavyweight title, Ruiz still would be obligated to fight Joshua next.
“The rematch takes precedence anyway over the belts,” Hearn said during a post-fight press conference early Sunday morning at Madison Square Garden. “But listen, the next mandatory [due] is the WBO. And I’ve already spoken to [WBO president] Paco Valcarcel, who would have no issues with the rematch anyway. We don’t want Andy Ruiz to lose [a belt]. Anthony don’t wanna lose one of these belts.
“So, the rematch, every belt will be on the line. But Andy has the chance to defend his titles and go on just in fights with Wilder and Fury. But, you know, for us, AJ will wanna win his belts back. But he’ll wanna beat Andy Ruiz. But I believe every one of those belts will be on the line.”
Top Rank could push Pulev’s issue with the IBF, which stripped Gennadiy Golovkin of its middleweight title last June because he moved forward with a rematch against Canelo Alvarez, rather than making a mandatory defense versus Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
The IBF was not next, as Hearn mentioned, in the rotation of mandatory defenses for the titles Joshua owned. That distinction belonged to the WBO, which is expected to declare former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk the mandatory challenger for its heavyweight crown.
Usyk (16-0, 12 KOs) was supposed to fight at heavyweight May 25 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The unbeaten Ukrainian’s bout with Cameroon’s Carlos Takam (36-5-1, 28 KOs) was canceled due to Usyk’s biceps injury.
Once he is healed, Usyk is expected fight someone other than Ruiz or Joshua in his return to the heavyweight division. If he wins, Usyk’s following fight probably would be his mandated shot at the WBO heavyweight title.
England’s Dillian Whyte (25-1, 18 KOs) currently is ranked No. 1 in the WBO’s heavyweight ratings.
Usyk’s situation is why Joshua had been expected to defend his IBF title next.
Ruiz also won the IBO and WBA championships from Joshua. The IBO doesn’t have mandatory challengers.
Joshua satisfied his mandatory obligation with the WBA in the bout before he faced Ruiz. He stopped former WBA champ Alexander Povetkin (34-2, 24 KOs) in the seventh round of that September 22 bout at Wembley Stadium in London.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
