Tyson Fury is poised to potentially be crowned the undisputed heavyweight world champion tonight as he faces Oleksandr Usyk in a highly anticipated bout in Saudi Arabia. This historic match will determine the first undisputed heavyweight ruler since Lennox Lewis in 1999 and the first to hold all four major belts, as only three were on offer 25 years ago.
However, the winner of tonight’s fight may not hold onto all four belts for long. Filip Hrgovic, the long-time mandatory challenger to IBF champion Usyk, is not willing to wait for the rematch between Fury and Usyk scheduled for October. Instead, Hrgovic is set to take on Daniel Dubois for the vacant IBF title in June, with the winner slated to face Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September.
This development means that the rematch between Fury and Usyk in October will likely feature only three of the major belts. The IBF has a history of moving quickly to strip fighters of their titles if they fail to meet mandatory defense obligations. For instance, Fury was stripped of his IBF belt after his victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 due to a rematch clause that prevented him from facing mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov.
Fury’s journey after that victory was tumultuous; he pulled out of the rematch with Klitschko, relinquished his other belts, and was out of the ring for almost three years due to struggles with drink-and-drug-fueled depression.
Should Fury win tonight, he has announced plans to give his belts away to Saudi Arabia’s boxing ringmaster, Turki Alalshikh. “I’ve actually promised His Excellency Turki Alalshikh that when I win all these belts, I give every one to him as a present,” Fury stated.
Fury also emphasized that more than just the four major belts are on the line. “There is a lot more than four belts on the line. You have IBO, IBF, WBO, WBA, WBC, Ring Magazine, and Lineal. So for all you motherf*****s out there who thought it was four, it is actually seven on the line.”
Usyk, on the other hand, will be attempting to become an undisputed champion for the second time. He previously achieved undisputed status at cruiserweight before moving up to heavyweight and dethroning Anthony Joshua. Usyk has since defeated Joshua twice and stopped Daniel Dubois last August to retain his belts.