Suleiman Names Contenders for Fury-Usyk Rematch Winner

Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the World Boxing Council (WBC) and advisor to Ready To Fight, has discussed potential opponents for the winner of the rematch between Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) and WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBO heavyweight (over 90.7 kg) champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs).

"The WBC sanctioned the first Usyk vs. Fury fight along with the rematch, which is set to take place in December, and currently, the WBC has no mandatory challengers. At the request of promoters, the WBC sanctioned the fight between Kabayel and Sanchez. Agit defeated Frank Sanchez, who had been in the top positions for many years and looked excellent. Thus, Kabayel has already won twice in Saudi Arabia, both times by knockout against top-5 contenders. He undoubtedly deserves a very privileged position, and as I said, the WBC has only sanctioned the rematch between Fury and Usyk, further steps need to be taken by the board of directors. Will the WBC sanction a fight between the winner of Fury-Usyk and Anthony Joshua if he defeats Daniel Dubois and becomes the IBF champion? Joshua has been in the spotlight for ten years, especially outside the ring; he is a very special person and represents the best of boxing both inside and outside the ring. Anthony Joshua is a very special and unique fighter who has been closely associated with the WBC for many years. He was the WBC International champion and defended it several times. The WBC was the first organization to rank him in the top 10, in the top 5. In fact, when he fought Charles Martin for the IBF title, he was the No. 2 contender in the WBC rankings. Fate took him to another organization and another path. But we have always highly respected and admired Joshua. So, there is Joshua and there is Kabayel. We are not promoters, so we cannot organize fights. We are very lenient, very flexible, to avoid interference. We want to hold the best fights, that's all," - Sulaiman said.

To recap, in May, Oleksandr Usyk won a split decision over Tyson Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world for the first time since 1999, when Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in their rematch. The Usyk-Fury rematch is scheduled for December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The winner of the bout is expected to face the victor of the fight between Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) and IBF champion Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), which is scheduled for September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London, UK.