WBC President Explains Delay in Naming Heavyweight Mandatory Challenger

Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the World Boxing Council (WBC), addressed why the organization has not appointed a mandatory challenger for the heavyweight title since 2022. The last mandatory challenger, Dillian Whyte, was knocked out by Tyson Fury in their fight.

“We’ve always tried to organize the biggest fights—Deontay Wilder vs. Joshua for the undisputed championship, then Fury vs. Joshua, and later Fury vs. Usyk.

This took a significant amount of time. Dillian Whyte was the last mandatory challenger, and after that, we’ve seen massive bouts, with no stronger contenders than those participating in these events.

There’s no need to assign a mandatory challenger, especially when top fighters have been so active. We won’t interfere or disrupt the prestige of this division,” Sulaiman explained.

The WBC heavyweight title is currently held by Oleksandr Usyk, who claimed it after defeating Tyson Fury.