Why Joshua is Ranked Above Fury in the New WBC Ranking

The President of the World Boxing Council (WBC) and Ready To Fight advisor, Mauricio Sulaiman, commented on the organization's updated ranking, where Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) surpassed former WBC heavyweight champion (over 90.7 kg) Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs).

After Fury's defeat by the undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), many expected the Brit to become #1 in the ranking. However, he landed only in second place, with Joshua taking the top spot.

"Tyson Fury was the WBC heavyweight champion in the previous ranking, and Anthony Joshua has been the #1 contender for several months. He had two knockout victories (over Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou), and Tyson Fury was placed second after his defeat by Oleksandr Usyk. Champions do not always occupy the top spot in the rankings when they lose their title.

Is Joshua the mandatory contender? Currently, we do not have a mandatory contender. The WBC has absolute authority to appoint a mandatory contender when they win the final eliminator or go through the process and receive votes to be appointed as the mandatory challenger. At the moment, we have sanctioned the first Fury-Usyk fight and the rematch. These are the two fights agreed upon at the last convention.

The WBC proactively supports unified and undisputed champions, and we do not try to find mandatory challengers just for the sake of having them. A mandatory contender should be a top-level opponent for the champion, and we have been very clear on this. Why force a mandatory fight when you have a confirmed Fury-Usyk rematch?" said Sulaiman.

The rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is scheduled for December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Anthony Joshua will announce his next opponent on June 26. It is expected that the opponent will be the IBF interim champion Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), and the fight will take place on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London, UK.

Current WBC Heavyweight Ranking:

Champion: Oleksandr Usyk

1. Anthony Joshua

2. Tyson Fury

3. Agit Kabayel

4. Zhang Zhilei

5. Efe Ajagba