The IBF have now retracted their decision to order that Oleksandr Usyk face Croatia's Filip Hrgovic fight next, clearing the way for Tyson Fury to face the Ukrainian.
Hrgovic is the number one ranked heavyweight contender with the International Boxing Federation and Usyk had been told that Hrgovic should be his next opponent or he could face losing his belt. However, this decision has now been reversed, clearing the way for him to face Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
This had been a potential stumbling block in negotiations but, with the path now clear, negotiations can continue with talks having been progressing well between Fury and Usyk. A venue and date are yet to be confirmed, with Wembley Stadium having been mentioned by Bob Arum as well as a potential fight in Saudi Arabia.
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On Sunday, Frank Warren provided an update on negotiations, telling TalkSport's Fight Night that a draft contract had been sent, saying: “We’ve sent them a draft contract, that’s where we’re at.. Listen, it’s gotta be sorted out very, very quickly now because the time is against us.”
Once that fight is settled, then Fury may be ordered to face Daniel Dubois, who currently holds the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title, due to the WBA being next on the heavyweight division's mandatory rotation. However, Fury has already stated his desire to face Joe Joyce who became the number one ranked WBO contender with his win against Joseph Parker in September.
As ever in the world of heavyweight boxing, the queue for world title fights is never straight forward. With Fury only holding the WBC title at present, he will face more complications with his future fight plans should he beat Usyk to claim his WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles.
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