WBC #1 (and TBRB unrated) Dmitry “The Russian Hammer” Kudryashov (21-1, 21 KOs) is ready and willing to face the cream of the crop of the cruiserweight division, says WOB’s executive director Dmitry Ivanov.

"He should do it as soon as possible, and taking part in the World Boxing Super Series is one of the best ways to do it," adds Ivanov.

Kudryashov is also ranked #5 by the IBF and #10 by the WBO. He is coming off a high-octane thriller in a rematch against the only fighter to beat him – Olanrewaju Durodola – whom he stopped within five rounds to get revenge.

“The tourney’s list includes reigning world champions and top contenders. If WBC cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis takes part in the tournament, then the top-rated WBC contender, who is also the WBC Silver titleholder, definitely must take part there as well. Otherwise, there is no sense in getting involved in the league. If the champions don’t fight top contenders, they cannot pretend to be the best," says Ivanov.

However, the path is different for reigning Super WBA cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev (29-3, 22 KOs), rated #3 by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. There are financial opportunities for the champion outside of the WBSS, so Lebedev isn’t planning to take part in the new series.

The Russian is next slated to face Australian challenger Mark Flanagan (22-4, 15 KOs) on July 10 in Ekaterinburg, Russia, in his next voluntary defense.

“There are no such plans," said Vadim Kornilov, Lebedev’s manager and the new head of World of Boxing, to the R-Sport media agency.

“Lebedev has a fight coming July 10, and it had been pre-planned before the tournament was announced and before we received an invitation. Some mandatory activities for the WBSS coincides with obligatory events for the July 10 show, and the focus is set on the Ekaterinburg show. We also have a mandatory defense ahead, and there is a possibility we shall take part in a unification. We are trying to keep all the doors open, but we definitely have solid financial opportunities to promote Denis without taking part in the tourney, and our team doesn’t want any strings attached."

Kornilov stepped up as a new head of the biggest Russian promotional company, when boxing and mortgage tycoon Andrey Ryabinskiy announced the move at the recent press conference before Kudryashov vs. Durodola II. Ryabinskiy will continue to fund the sport though.

The World Boxing Super Series will be a bracket-style elimination tournament featuring a total of $50 million in prize money.

The winner will receive the Muhammad Ali Trophy. The tournament will be organised by newly-founded Comosa AG, a Swiss-registered company with principal owners from the world of marketing (Highlight Event & Entertainment), broadcasting (Modern Times Group) and boxing (Team Sauerland).

The tournament, the first of its kind, will kick off in September 2017. It will be taking place on an annual basis. The inaugural season of the World Boxing Super Series will feature two weight classes, 16 fighters and a total of 14 main events. In each weight class, eight boxers will battle it out in a bracket-style elimination tournament, with four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and one final. This makes for seven top fights per weight class, and a total of 14 fights in season 1 to be staged in premier venues around the globe.

An expert panel will invite the top 15-ranked fighters of the four big federations WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO. The eight Quarter Finals – four in each weight class – will take place in September and October 2017, with the four Semi Finals scheduled for January and February 2018. The two Finals will then go down in May 2018.

It was later announced that the cruiserweight division will feature three top-ranked fighters in Latvian Mairis Briedis (22-0, 18 KOs), Russian Murat Gassiev (24-0, 17 KOs) and Poland’s Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (53-3-1, 37 KOs). TBRB #2 Murat Gassiev is a newly crowned IBF champion (beating Denis Lebedev for only one of his titles), TBRB #6 Briedis beat Marco Huck for a vacant WBC belt, and TBRB #7 Wlodarczyk is a former two-time IBF beltholder.