OShaquieFosterShakurStevenson

Victorious O’Shaquie Fosters calls for showdown with Shakur Stevenson

Declan Warrington

•19h ago•12 Comments

FosterFord01

Masterful O’Shaquie Foster tames Raymond Ford to retain WBC 130lbs title

Declan Warrington

•1d ago•5 Comments

Dmitry

Dmitry Bivol dominates overmatched Michael Eifert, makes it look all too easy

•1d ago•7 Comments

FosterFordWeighIn01

Eddie Hearn anticipates Texan launchpad for Raymond Ford

Declan Warrington

•1d ago•Read more

Benavidez_Mikaelian copy

WBC to Noel Mikaelian: Fight David Benavidez next, or else

•2d ago•3 Comments

Opetaia_Mikaelian

Jai Opetaia, Noel Mikaelian finalizing Ring cruiserweight showdown

•2d ago•5 Comments

Rico Verhoeven [right] clouts Oleksandr Usyk in Egypt on May 23, 2026

The Beltline: Kickboxer Rico Verhoeven becomes the poster boy for boxing’s WTF era

•2d ago•1 Comment

O'Shaquie Foster raises a glove following his December 2025 victory over Stephen Fulton.

‘Special’ O’Shaquie Foster is the smartest fighter Bobby Benton has trained

Declan Warrington

•3d ago•1 Comment

Rico Verhoeven at the London press conference for his fight against Oleksandr Usyk. (April 14, 2026)

Rico Verhoeven happy to take on all-comers at heavyweight - with one exception

•3d ago•5 Comments

Gervonta Davis looks up at a person speaking at a microphone during a press conference on September 22, 2025, for Davis' exhibition match with Jake Paul.

Tank in Trouble: Arrest warrant issued for Gervonta 'Tank' Davis

•4d ago•11 Comments

Vasiliy Lomachneko

Vasiliy Lomachenko wants Charly Suarez for comeback, official says

•4d ago•4 Comments

International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Holly Holm waves at a December 2025 press conference, days ahead of her first boxing match in years.

Holly Holm hopes to ride Stephanie Han rematch to showdowns with Ronda Rousey, Katie Taylor

•4d ago•1 Comment

O'Shaquie Foster (left) and Raymond Ford face off at the press conference. (April 24, 2026)

‘Way better’ Raymond Ford plays down O’Shaquie Foster’s résumé

Declan Warrington

•5d ago•3 Comments

Agit Kabayel celebrates his February 2025 victory over Zhilei Zhang.

WBC order for Oleksandr Usyk-Agit Kabayel to be next remains

•5d ago•1 Comment

Rico Verhoeven, with coach Peter Fury, is announced to the crowd ahead of his fight with Oleksandr Usyk

'If Oleksandr Usyk didn't take Rico Verhoeven seriously he would have been stopped'

•5d ago•9 Comments

Mark Lyson steps in to stop the fight with Verhoeven on the ropes and Usyk set to celebrate

Oleksandr Usyk-Rico Verhoeven: Peter Fury confronts and then forgives the referee on flight home

BoxingScene Staff

•6d ago•21 Comments

Frank Warren at the press conference for Fabio Wardley-Daniel Dubois. (May 7, 2026)

Frank Warren: Oleksandr Usyk must be stripped if Rico Verhoeven rematch comes next

BoxingScene Staff

•1w ago•16 Comments

Oleksandr Usyk has his hand held aloft by Mark Lyson having defeated Rico Verhoeven

Boxing owes it to Rico Verhoeven to ensure Oleksandr Usyk rematch happens

•1w ago•17 Comments

Oleksandr Usyk, pictured after his victory over Rico Verhoeven

Oleksandr Usyk found out

•1w ago•21 Comments

Rico Verhoeven fires a left at Oleksandr Usyk

Sphinx Jinx: Oleksandr Usyk dodges a bullet to score late stoppage of Rico Verhoeven

•1w ago•54 Comments

Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven take to the scales in Egypt

Oleksandr Usyk-Rico Verhoeven preview: Who wins and how?

•1w ago•7 Comments

Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven get ready for battle in May 2026 in Egypt

Oleksandr Usyk-Rico Verhoeven weigh-in: Usyk 233.3lbs; Verhoeven 258.7lbs

BoxingScene Staff

•1w ago•9 Comments

Agit Kabayel sits down for an interview.

Agit Kabayel says Oleksandr Usyk ‘must fight me next’

•1w ago•23 Comments

Oleksandr Usyk plays for the camera in April 2026

Oleksandr Usyk: 'Three more fights... When I say I'm retired, I won't be back'

BoxingScene Staff

•1w ago•36 Comments

Richard Torrez Jnr stands in the ring during his boxing match with Tomas Salek on November 15, 2025.

Richard Torrez Jnr ventures a world away to discover if he's world-class

•1w ago•36 Comments

Ryan Garcia Photo:Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom

Ryan Garcia tells Jimmy Fallon that Conor Benn is next

•1w ago•15 Comments

Naoya Inoue 12272025

Naoya Inoue-Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez in Japan? 'Without a shadow of a doubt'

•2w ago•3 Comments

Oleksandr Usyk takes the fight to Anthony Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2021

Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua III not out of the question, says Eddie Hearn

•2w ago•29 Comments

Filip Hrgovic clatters Dave Allen with a right shortly before the end of their May 16 contest

Filip Hrgovic blasts through Dave Allen, sets up Moses Itauma showdown

•2w ago•35 Comments

Lawrence Okolie makes his way to the ring in 2025

Lawrence Okolie: ‘I did not cheat, this is very clear cut’

Declan Warrington

•2w ago•12 Comments

How do unification bouts work? | BoxingScene Community

Back to Community

How do unification bouts work?

David0619y ago

What I mean is...how do they come together? With all the mandatory defenses, step-aside fees, titles getting stripped, etc...I don't really understand what it takes to make a unification fight. I'm not real savvy on the business side of boxing.

Comments (6)

And thats fucking bullshit and hurts the sport IMO. well it has SOME good to it. More titles means more money for the fighters, and most them deserve the money. With the current state of boxing, a lot of contenders wouldnt be making a lot of money, cause they would only have one guy to fight for the title. comprende? title fights = money Its bad for the fans though, i agree

19y ago

I'd say the TV companies have more clout when it comes to match making nowadays.

19y ago

Most unifications don't work anymore because as soon as a fighter wins more than one title, one of the sanctioning bodies forces them to fight one of their mandatories, which the fighter refuses and either drops one of the belts or gets stripped in order to fight a bigger name. I know...but they still happen occasionally. What I'm asking is, what kind of agreements, contracts and money go into pushing through all the BS and making a unification fight happen?

19y ago

It's best when people give up belts to fight the best fighters. At the end of the day the sanctioning bodies are only in it for money they couldn't give a fuck about the best facing each other as long as they making money they'll put anything on as a "world title fight" that doesnt mean it's the fights the fans want to see.

19y ago

Most unifications don't work anymore because as soon as a fighter wins more than one title, one of the sanctioning bodies forces them to fight one of their mandatories, which the fighter refuses and either drops one of the belts or gets stripped in order to fight a bigger name. And thats fucking bullshit and hurts the sport IMO.

19y ago

Most unifications don't work anymore because as soon as a fighter wins more than one title, one of the sanctioning bodies forces them to fight one of their mandatories, which the fighter refuses and either drops one of the belts or gets stripped in order to fight a bigger name.

19y ago