JAKARTA - World Boxing Council (WBC) President Mauricio Sulaiman is pessimistic that the duel for the unification of all heavyweight titles between Ukrainian champion Oleksandr Usyk and British boxer Tyson Fury will be realized.
Usyk and Fury should have targeted a ring trip on April 29 at Wembley Stadium. However, last week negotiations between the two fighters failed due to compensation problems for their rematch.
"The WBC strongly supports the unification fight between Fury and Usyk to determine the undisputed champion in the heavyweight division," Sulaiman told Sky Sports quoted by Boxing Scene.
The chances of the unification of the two fighters narrowed after representatives from Usyk were ready to comply with WBA's orders to fight mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois. For this reason, the duel against Fury is likely to only be held after that.
Sulaiman said he was not too sure that Fury and Usyk could win all the heavyweight belts by the time they dueled. This is because of Usyk and Fury's mandatory challenger cycle before their duel.
"It is very disappointing that such a match will not happen because this opportunity will not exist in a long time, it will be difficult to harmonize everything because there is an obligation for every organization," he said.
If Usyk is ready to face mandatory challengers, Fury's unclear fate will be on the side. Frank Warren, his promoter, stated the possibility that this Manchester boxer could retire after failing against Usyk.
Sulaiman told Sky Sports his company was still waiting for confirmation for the WBC heavyweight elimination match between former Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz.
The winner will be a mandatory challenger for Fury's championship belt. Previously Fury had fought Wilder three times and managed to win by knockout twice.
"The WBC convention has decided that the final elimination will take place between Wilder and Ruiz to determine mandatory challengers in this division. The WBC has been waiting for confirmation of the unification fight. So, we will now review the next steps to be taken," he said.
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