Promoter Eddie Hearn wants untitled heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to agree not to fight IBF interim champion Daniel Dubois to have his title stripped.
With the IBF belt vacated, Hearn’s fighter, Anthony Joshua, will face interim champion Dubois in the vacant title on September 21 at Wembley Stadium. Usyk will then claim his three titles, WBA, WBC & WBO, and face Tyson Fury in a rematch on December 21.
The winners of the Joshua-Dubois and Fury-Usyk 2 fights will meet in April or May in what Hearn hopes will be an all-English fight between Joshua and Fury.
Obviously, the worst case scenario would see Dubois knock out Joshua on September 21st, and Usyk send Fury into retirement with a KO loss on December 21st. That will leave Hearn without a tough fight against Joshua and needing to repeat his actions like he just did.
If Fury doesn’t retire after his second loss against Usyk, he and Joshua can still fight, going into the match with both beaten. It wouldn’t be the ideal way to go about the fight, but Hearn would call it a they are not defeated comfort bracket. If Deontay Wilder doesn’t retire, put him in a contract.
Hearn’s plan
- Joshua vs. Dubois for the vacant IBF title on September 21
- Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 rematch for WBA, WBC & WBO belts on December 21
- The winners of those two battles fight for the undisputed championship in April or May 2025
A Possible Timeline for the Heavyweight Division
“Usyk needs to be honest enough, and we need him to tell the truth, ‘I’m not going to fight Daniel Dubois.’ Daniel Dubois is temporary [IBF] world champion and compulsion. Usyk must fight him,” said promoter Eddie Hearn on talkSport Boxing.
I don’t think Usyk will relinquish his IBF title, and it’s unlikely the sanctioning body will strip him. Hearn doesn’t understand how unpopular it would be for the IBF to strip Usyk of his title as his country is facing so many problems, and it would look bad for him to do so.
The IBF should allow Usyk to retain his title rematch with Fury on the condition that the winner face the interim champion, be it Dubois, Joshua, or whoever.
Other Conditions and Effects
If Joshua chooses not to fight Dubois for his interim IBF title on September 21, he will be facing either Zhilei Zhang or Joseph Parter without the interim belt on the line. These are dangerous fights for Joshua, and he could lose to these guys. I think it would be better for Joshua to face Dubois and try to take the interim IBF belt.
“He is there [Usyk] got a rematch with Fury [on December 21st],” Hearn said of Fury. “I think the way that AJ and Dubois will fight for the IBF title will be next [on September 21st]. Fury and Usyk fight for everything else [WBA, WBC & WBO]and then next spring in April or May time, maybe the winners can fight the winners again unopposed.”
It sounds like wishful thinking on Hearn’s part, he believes that the IBF will strip him of his title because it doesn’t look like they will do that. The IBF is better off letting Usyk hold his own in the Fury rematch and letting Joshua and Dubois fight to pick an opponent against the winner of the Fury-Usyk 2 rematch.
If Joshua wins that fight against Dubois and decides he doesn’t want to fight Usyk if he wins the King of Gyspy, then there’s no point. AJ could face Fury, which would look bad for him, but you can’t blame Joshua for not wanting to face Usyk again after being humiliated by him twice.
“I don’t think so because everything we hear from Honorable AJ may fight the winner Fury and Usyk if [Joshua] you win in September,” Hearn said. “Let’s be honest. If Fury wins and goes unchallenged, we have to fight AJ, we have to fight.”
Usyk could vacate his four titles after defeating Fury in December and pursue his idea of returning to cruiserweight. That would scatter all four titles, making it difficult for Joshua or Fury to try to collect them all.
Fury is very rich and seems to be satisfied with his life which no doubt he will relax to try not to be doubted if Syk leaves these four titles after defeating Gypsy King for the second time.
Joshua doubts about the third battle of Usyk
“AJ wants his shooting to go unchallenged. So either way, we have to try and get there. He would love to get a chance to get another crack at Usyk. Two-nil. “It’s hard work, but he feels he’s in a better place now, and he’d like a shot at Tyson Fury,” Hearn said.
Hearn says Joshua doesn’t care about another Usyk, but I doubt AJ feels that way. With the way he melted down after his last loss against him, he may not want to go back against Usyk for a third time and put him in another boxing class that will tarnish his legacy.
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