What usually happens when two mandatory obligations are due at the same time?

[tophat1]

In interviews i find it interesting that hearn seems to be dropping hints that usyk could be fighting for a vacant title. This makes no sense, the wbo wont force the mandatory maybe the ibf would tho. If joshua wins he just has to fight pulev then usyk . Unless hes covering his tracks incase ruiz wins, then he will try to force the usyk mandatory before a wilder unification can be made

[buddyr]

this is why 4 belts will always be a problem. In an era that champions fight twice a year, how does a unified champ with 4 titles defend each title once per year?

[Mammoth]

Hearn needs to just suck it up and Get Usyk back out there.

[Toffee]

this is why 4 belts will always be a problem. In an era that champions fight twice a year, how does a unified champ with 4 titles defend each title once per year?

They don't have to because they'll take turns and won't have always have a mandatory.

But the champ wouldn't be able to take voluntaries - which is usually what splits the belts.

For what it's worth, I think if Ruiz wins, the belts scatter.

If Joshua wins, I don't believe he'll drop a belt. He'll get 12 months and fight Pulev.

[thedarkdragon11]

Mandatory challengers should fight each other instead of risking a strip...

[Phenom]

Canelo v GGG 2 when the WBC ordered the fight and IBF jumped the line and called GGG to fight Dervy

WBO should've called their mandatory but they didn't so I expect the IBF to do what they do and strip the winner of Ruiz v Joshua if they don't fight Pulev next

[Phenom]

this is why 4 belts will always be a problem. In an era that champions fight twice a year, how does a unified champ with 4 titles defend each title once per year?

Just get rid of mandatory for unified champions it used to be only the WBC had mandatory and no one else IBF and WBO shouldn't be calling mandatories when their rankings is full of tomato cans

[MulaKO]

this is why 4 belts will always be a problem. In an era that champions fight twice a year, how does a unified champ with 4 titles defend each title once per year?

I was thinking the same thing
It makes it quite hard on a fighter to fulfill his obligations

Hearn needs to just suck it up and Get Usyk back out there.

Your absolutely right
And it won’t hurt Usyk’s training for bigger fights

[kafkod]

If there was a scenario of 2 mandatories back to back, pulev first then usyk would probably be better for all parties anyway. It gives usyk a chance to fight a live body and show he belongs and would also help build the fight. I think it’s more of an issue if Ruiz wins, because his time frame for defending the belt will be from the time he won it, where Joshua will have another 9-12 months.

Last time it happened when both were due at the same time was back in the 90's. I'm sure it'll come to me. Might have been Lennox?

but basically the fighter chooses which mandatory they fight, and the other belt gets vacated.

No, it happened in 2016 after AJ beat Wlad.

Pulev was also the IBF mando back then and AJ was given permission to unify with Wlad on condition that he defended against Pulev next.

But after AJ beat Wlad the WBA gave him 30 days to fight their mando, Luis Ortiz. The IBF and WBA then held a meeting and they both agreed that the IBF mando should come first because it had been ordered first.

I'm 100% sure that a similar compromise will be reached between the IBF and the WBO, if the winner of Ruiz/Joshua requests it. It sounds to me like Hearn and AJ don't intend to request it if AJ wins the fight.

Maybe they are thinking that AJ vs Usyk would be bigger and sell more tickets if Usyk became WBO champ before fighting AJ?

[_Rexy_]

No, it happened in 2016 after AJ beat Wlad.

Pulev was also the IBF mando back then and AJ was given permission to unify with Wlad on condition that he defended against Pulev next.

But after AJ beat Wlad the WBA gave him 30 days to fight their mando, Luis Ortiz. The IBF and WBA then held a meeting and they both agreed that the IBF mando should come first because it had been ordered first.

I'm 100% sure that a similar compromise will be reached between the IBF and the WBO, if the winner of Ruiz/Joshua requests it. It sounds to me like Hearn and AJ don't intend to request it if AJ wins the fight.

Maybe they are thinking that AJ vs Usyk would be bigger and sell more tickets if Usyk became WBO champ before fighting AJ?

Or it's just promoter talk to try to divide and anger fans when a division doesn't happen. I'll wait for a statement from the WBO. The example I was thinking of was back before the bodies would work together, I'm pretty sure Lennox got stripped of a trinket.


EDIT - It was WBC Mandatory Michael Grant and WBA Mandatory John Ruiz. That's how they got split, and that's how Ruiz got his belt.