Usyk-Fury Rematch May Be Sanctioned

Paco Valcarcel, the President of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), discussed the potential for his organization to sanction a rematch between WBO, WBA, IBF, and IBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and WBC champion Tyson Fury.

"We're ready to do it. We can sanction the rematch. Let's first see what happens. In boxing, you can't take anything for granted. Let's wait and see what unfolds and work from there," Valcarcel said.

The complexity lies in Usyk's mandatory challengers for various titles. For instance, under WBO rules, Chinese boxer Zhang Zhilei, who holds the "interim" champion title and is set to box against Joseph Parker on March 8, is a mandatory challenger. Therefore, one of the organizations might oppose the rematch and could strip the winner of the first Usyk-Fury fight of their title before a potential second bout. The head of the WBC has also previously stated readiness to sanction the rematch.

The title fight for the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF, and IBO belts is scheduled to take place on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.