Promoter Eddie Hearn wants undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to admit that he won’t be fighting interim IBF champ Daniel Dubois so that the title can be stripped from him.
With the IBF belt freed up, Hearn’s fighter, Anthony Joshua, will face interim champion Dubois for the vacant title on September 21st at Wembley Stadium. Usyk will then take his three titles, WBA, WBC & WBO, and face Tyson Fury in a rematch on December 21st.
The winners of the Joshua-Dubois and Fury-Usyk 2 fights will then meet in April or May for the undisputed championship, which Hearn hopes will be an all-British fight between Joshua and Fury.
Obviously, the nightmare scenario would see Dubois knock out Joshua on September 21st and Usyk send Fury into retirement with a KO loss on December 21st. That would leave Hearn without a mega-fight for Joshua and needing to rebuild him again like he just finished doing.
If Fury doesn’t retire after his second loss against Usyk, he and Joshua can still fight, going into the match with both being beaten. It wouldn’t be the ideal way to make the fight, but Hearn could call it a losers consolation bracket. If Deontay Wilder doesn’t retire, include him in the deal.
Hearn’s Plan
- Joshua vs. Dubois for vacant IBF title on September 21st
- Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 rematch for WBA, WBC & WBO belts on December 21st
- Winners of those two fights battle for the undisputed championship in April or May 2025
The Potential Timeline for the Heavyweight Division
“Usyk needs to be honest enough, and we need him to be honest to say, ‘I’m not going to fight Daniel Dubois.’ Daniel Dubois is the interim [IBF] world champion and the mandatory. Usyk has to fight him,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to talkSport Boxing.
I don’t think Usyk is going to give up his IBF title, and it’s unlikely the sanctioning body will strip him. Hearn doesn’t understand how unpopular it would be for the IBF to strip Usyk of his title, as his country is going through a lot, and it would look bad on their part to make that move.
The IBF should allow Usyk to keep his title for the rematch with Fury under the condition that the winner faces the interim champion, be it Dubois, Joshua, or whoever.
Alternative Scenarios and Outcomes
If Joshua chooses not to fight Dubois for his interim IBF title on September 21st, he’ll be stuck with Zhilei Zhang or Joseph Parter with no interim belt on the line. Those are risky fights for Joshua, and he could lose to either one of those guys. I think it would be better for Joshua to face Dubois to try and pick up the interim IBF belt.
“He’s [Usyk] got the rematch with Fury [on December 21st],” said Hearn about Fury. “I think the way that it’ll line up potentially is AJ and Dubois fight for the IBF title [on September 21st]. Fury and Usyk fight for everything else [WBA, WBC & WBO], and then next spring in April or May time, perhaps the winners can fight the winners again for undisputed.”
It sounds like wishful thinking on Hearn’s part, believing the IBF will strip Usyk of his title because it doesn’t look like they’re going to do that. The IBF is better off letting Usyk hold onto it for the Fury rematch, and let Joshua and Dubois fight to pick the opponent that faces the winner of the Fury-Usyk 2 rematch.
If Joshua wins that fight against Dubois and decides he doesn’t want to fight Usyk if he is victorious against the Gyspy King, he doesn’t have to. AJ can face Fury, which would look bad on his part, but you can’t blame Joshua for not wanting to face Usyk again after getting embarrassed by him twice already.
“I don’t think so because everything we’re hearing from His Excellency is AJ potentially fighting the winner of Fury and Usyk if he [Joshua] wins in September,” said Hearn. “Let’s be honest. If Fury wins and becomes undisputed, we have to make the AJ fight, we just have to.”
Usyk may vacate his four titles after beating Fury in December and go ahead with his idea of moving back down to cruiserweight. That would splinter off all four titles, which make it difficult for Joshua or Fury to try and collect them all.
“AJ wants his shot at undisputed. So either way, we’ve got to try and get there. He’d love to have an opportunity to get another crack at Usyk. It’s two-nil. It’s a difficult task, but he feels he’s in a much better place now, and, of course, he’d love a shot at Tyson Fury as well,” said Hearn.
Hearn says Joshua wouldn’t mind another crack at Usyk, but I doubt AJ feels that way. With how he melted down after his last defeat against him, he might not want to get back in with Usyk a third time and have him put on another boxing masterclass that will forever tarnish his legacy.
