Hearn: WBO Wants To Be Part Of Fury-Joshua, Also Have Obligation To Usyk As Mandatory

From the moment Anthony Joshua turned away the challenge of Kubrat Pulev, the next step for all involved parties was to move forward with plans for the biggest fight to be made in boxing today.

A showdown between Joshua and Tyson Fury would undoubtedly serve as the biggest all-British fight of all time, along with the distinction of the first-ever heavyweight championship with all of the major titles on the line. One significant hurdle remains in place, however; former cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (18-0, 13KOs), whom has served as the mandatory challenger for the WBO heavyweight title for more than a year. 

As much was addressed by the Puerto Rico-based sanctioning body shortly after Joshua’s 9th round knockout win over Pulev last Saturday at SSE Arena-Wembley. Francisco ‘Paco’ Valcarcel sent a stern reminder to Eddie Hearn, managing director of Matchroom Boxing of the arrangements in place for who is next in line for the WBO title before moving forward full steam with a Joshua-Fury showdown.

“They’re in a difficult position,” Hearn acknowledged during a recent Zoom media conference call. “Obviously, they’re desperate to be a part of this fight. They also have an obligation to OIeksandr Usyk as their mandatory.”

Hearn has served as Joshua’s career-long promoter, and also promotes Usyk along with K2 Promotions-Ukraine.

Usyk was named the number-one contender with the WBO shortly after abandoning his cruiserweight title reign, where he held all four major belts and the lineal championship. The unbeaten Ukrainian southpaw made six defenses of the WBO belt while also collecting the WBA/WBC/IBF titles through the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament.

An exemplary title reign coupled with a stellar amateur career which included a Gold medal win in the 2012 London Olympics was enough for the WBO to classify Usyk as a “Super” Champion. The distinction allows such fighters to move up or down in weight as they choose and essentially advance to the mandatory challenger position, which Usyk claimed at heavyweight.

Shortly after Usyk was named the sanctioning body’s next challenger in waiting, Joshua (24-1, 22KOs) regained the WBO/WBA/IBF/IBO titles in a 12-round decision win over Andy Ruiz last December. It was understood at the time that Pulev and Usyk were next in line as IBF and WBO mandatories, respectively.

Along the way came Fury’s re-emergence into the championship picture. The unbeaten heavyweight from Manchester, England reclaimed lineal championship status along with the WBC title following a 7th round stoppage of Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41KOs) in their rematch this past February in Las Vegas. Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs) remains in mediation over a contract dispute with Wilder claiming he is still owed a third fight, while Fury and his side insist such a clause has since expired and he is free to face whom he chooses.

Fury has not made any secret about next wanting a fight with Joshua, regardless of what’s at stake. It would appear that all involved parties—Joshua, Hearn and Fury’s co-promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren—are on board with that sentiment, even if it means the WBO title being abandoned prior to or immediately after such a superfight which is being targeted for next May.

Usyk previously settled for a stay-busy fight with Derek Chisora, whom he outpointed this past Halloween. Even that fight came as a compromise, with the insistence that his next one would be for the WBO heavyweight championship—with or without Joshua manning the opposite corner.

“In an ideal world with the WBO, [Usyk] needs to be happy with the resolution,” notes Hearn. “At the same time, if there are no belts on the line, [Fury-Joshua] would still take place and it would still be the biggest fight in boxing. It’s a tough one for Paco. He really wants to be a part of it but he just can’t ignore mandatory obligations at the same time.

“We have to come up with some kind of solution that will make [everyone] happy—or else vacate the belt.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox