Anthony Joshua has been slotted in as the No.6 contender for Tyson Fury's WBC world heavyweight title ahead of a possible end-of-year showdown.
The British rivals have been going back-and-forth publicly and behind the scenes over a potential December fight at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, with Fury expected to offer a generous 60-40 split to Joshua. The duo have had a long-standing rivalry, and there's no love lost between their respective promoters Frank Warren, Bob Arum and Eddie Hearn either.
But it appears both sides have publicly painted themselves into a corner now after seemingly agreeing to terms for a bout at the end of the year. Joshua has just lost two fights in a row, but they were both for the unified world heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk, the first of which he entered as the defending champion.
That means that he doesn't look out of place at No.6 in the new WBC rankings, with a host of major names below him in the pecking order. Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz Jr, Frank Sanchez, Robert Helenius and Arslanbek Makhmudov make up the top five ahead of him, with Wilder and Helenius due to fight on October 15 in an eliminator semi-final to face Ruiz Jr next year for the top contender spot.
Dillian Whyte is just behind Joshua at No.7, having been the last mandatory with the governing body back in April. There is now a grace period where Fury may make voluntary defences, with the two-time champion seemingly slotting into that position for an end-of-year showdown.
Mahmoud Charr appears to be the other opponent that Fury is looking at for his 'keep busy' fight while he awaits Usyk to return a clean bill of health and face him in a mega-money showdown for the undisputed title next year. He is ranked as low at No.19 in the governing body's latest rankings, and would outrage fans and fighters alike if he was chosen for the voluntary defence.
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"Fury made his mandatory defence in April," WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told Sky Sports. "He is in a voluntary stage and the WBC will determine all mandatories of all divisions at the convention in Acapulco on November.
"The WBC cannot mandate such bout [Joshua vs Fury], that would be against the rules and against the rights of champion Fury - Fury vs Joshua will always be an interesting match, especially for the UK. Fury is without a doubt the best heavyweight of today and is in his prime."
The Manchester native had been insisting until a few weeks ago that he was retired from the sport, and would only return if he were paid $500million. He then took that down to nothing, if it meant fighting Joshua, and now appears to be back after offering Derek Chisora and now Joshua big money deals to fight him this year.
