FIRST, the good news: After protracted negotiations, and some acerbic words thrown along the way, WBA-WBO-IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and WBC counterpart Tyson Fury have finally agreed to meet in the ring for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.
Now, the bad news: Whoever will emerge the winner does not figure to stay long as the undisputed world heavyweight champ.
As aforestated, Fury and Usyk have finally affixed their signatures on a contract to fight. The deal calls for the fight to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia either on December 23 this year or early next year. The date has not been fixed because Fury is still scheduled to meet former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou on October 28.
If Fury blitzes past Ngannou in a wink of an eye, a result that is almost certain, then the fight with Usyk is likely going to be held on December 23. If Fury inexplicably struggles or sustains some sort of injury, then the fight with Usyk will be moved next year to give him time to recover.
In any event, the boxing world cannot wait to see Fury and Usyk in the same ring together. The fight will rewrite the history books as the winner will be recognized as the first ever undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF).
Briton Fury totes a record of 33-0, 1 draw with 24 knockouts. In 2015, Fury actually won the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight crown by beating Wladimir Klitschko. Fury was only one crown (WBC) short of becoming undisputed heavyweight champ but a slew of domestic issues, which included him going on a sabbatical, left him with only the WBC belt which he won by knocking out Deontay Wilder in 2020.
Ukraine's Usyk is 21-0 with 14 knockouts. In 2018, he unified all four major belts in the cruiserweight division by beating Murat Gassiev. Usyk moved up to the heavyweight class and captured the WBA, WBO and IBF versions of the belt with an impressive 12-round decision over Great Britain's Anthony Joshua in 2021. Usyk had made two defenses of the unified belts.
Usyk is looking to make history against Fury. A victory will make Usyk undisputed champion (in the four-belt era) in two weight divisions.
Currently, the record is held by American Terence Crawford, who has been crowned undisputed champ in the junior welterweight and welterweight divisions.
The Fury-Usyk fight comes with a caveat, though.
The fighters inserted a rematch clause in the contract. This means that the loser of the fight can demand a second fight right away. This is going to be a problem. The winner of the first fight will have all four belts in his possession. All four governing bodies in boxing (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF) follow a rotation system when it comes to the undisputed or unified champion defending the belts. The IBF is next in line in the rotation and this means the winner of Tyson-Usyk will be required to make an immediate defense of the IBF crown.
The IBF has already made it known that the winner of the Fury-Usyk fight must defend against the IBF's No. 1 contender Filip Hrgovic of Croatia.
The IBF is not taking cognizance of the rematch clause in the Fury-Usyk fight and is directing the winner of the bout to immediately face Hrgovic. If the winner of the Fury-Usyk fight reneges on his obligation to make a mandatory defense of the IBF crown, the IBF will declare its title vacant and pick Hrgovic and another challenger to battle for it.
The IBF is being a party-pooper. If the Fury-Usyk fight turns out to be a match for the ages, boxing fans will definitely clamor for an immediate second fight. The winner will not likely take a break to defend against Hrgovic as the fight does not figure to command big bucks.
Of course, in the event Fury-Usyk turns out to be a letdown or the winner ends up administering a beatdown, the loser may no longer ask for a second bout and the winner will be free to defend against Hrgovic to keep all four belts in the possession of one boxer.
For the record, Hrgovic has no plans to step aside. The Croatian is 16-0 with 13 knockouts and is a former Olympic bronze medalist. He cannot wait to meet the winner of Fury-Usyk.
A lot of things can still happen, but in the final analysis boxing fans are getting the biggest heavyweight title match in recent years. The issue of the winner being a short-lived undisputed champ can be placed in the backburner for now.