Oleksandr Usyk will have to wait at least one more fight for any shot at fuly unifying the heavyweight crown.

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the IBF is prepared to order its mandatory title defense between Usyk and number-one contender Filip Hrgovic. The plan has been in place all month but parked due to the rotational system in place for unified titlists.  

Usyk retained the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles in a ninth-round knockout of England’s Daniel Dubois in their WBA title consolidation bout. Dubois held the WBA ‘Regular’ title, which is no longer in circulation after he suffered a knockout defeat Saturday in Wroclaw, Poland.

The fight was next in rotation for Usyk’s multiple mandatory title obligations. Hrgovic was initially ordered to next challenge for at least the IBF title earlier this year, but the sanctioning body rescinded the ruling when it was realized that the WBA was due first.

Hrgovic (16-0, 13KOs) became the mandatory challenger after a twelve-round points win over Zhilei Zhang last August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The bout took place on the undercard of Usyk’s repeat win over Anthony Joshua to defend the unified crown he won in their first meeting the prior September in North London.

Dubois (19-2, 18KOs) was confirmed as next in line for Ukraine’s Usyk in a fight that came as part of the WBA’s ongoing title reduction policy.

Hrgovic was permitted the opportunity to fight for an interim title but was unable to find an available challenger as he wound up sitting out for nearly a full year. The 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist for Croatia eventually made his way back into the ring on August 12, when he stopped unbeaten Demsey McKean in the 12th round of their heavyweight bout on the undercard of Joshua’s seventh-round knockout of Robert Helenius at The O2 in London.

By that point, Hrgovic was already armed with paperwork that confirmed he was due to next challenge the Usyk-Dubois winner. The August 1 ruling was made with confidence that there is no chance of an undisputed championship fight on the horizon.

Such rumors swirled during fight week, perhaps as a lazy narrative given the presence of lineal/WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24KOs). A full unification bout was in discussion earlier this year but fell apart as he and Usyk never came close to seeing eye-to-eye on a number of terms. Talks ultimately collapsed as the WBA set a deadline for the two to reach a deal and avoid an ordered Usyk-Dubois title consolidation bout.

Manchester’s Fury is currently scheduled to next face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a farcical crossover bout due to take place October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The unbeaten heavyweight king has not defended his crown since a tenth-round knockout of Derek Chisora last December 3 and will now go all of 2023 without putting his championship at stake.

Perhaps his next fight can come versus the winner of Usyk-Hrgovic, whose timeframe will depend on whether a deal can be reached or if the fight heads to a purse bod hearing. Usyk is represented by K2 Promotions and Skill Challenge Promotions. He spent his past five fights on shows presented by Matchroom Boxing, who co-promotes Hrgovic along with Wasserman Boxing.

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