Heavyweight Division Transformed in a Fortnight

A little over two weeks ago, the boxing world awaited the next move of world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Now it seems the 39-year-old will face Deontay Wilder in a farewell bout; the making of which comes with vast consequences.

It’s certainly been an eventful fortnight in the banner division. Everything, it seems, has changed.

We can trace its beginning back to mid-June when Saudi Arabian powerbroker Turki Alalshikh declared his intention to host a ‘peace summit’ to resolve the ongoing promotional disputes surrounding the proposed showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

On June 22 came the news that the WBC had enforced an end-of-month deadline on Usyk to defend his title against then-interim beltholder, Agit Kabayel. Within days, word from the Ukrainian’s camp suggested the veteran was considering retirement and would not be bullied into accepting a contest with Kabayel.

Then, on June 26, came the moment that changed everything. Usyk, the holder of WBC, WBA, and IBF titles, was going to relinquish his belts to focus on a “last dance” of his choosing.

The following day, acting quickly, the WBC elevated Kabayel to full champion. By the end of the week, he was calling out Joshua, Fury, Moses Itauma, and WBO boss, Daniel Dubois. It was a new era, his era, he said.

On June 30, the IBF declared that Frank Sanchez, the organization’s leading contender, should fight Itauma for the vacant belt with the end of July enforced as the deadline for the teams to come to an agreement.

But there was a Filip Hrgovic-shaped problem. The Croat was due to face Itauma on August 29 in a contest already eagerly awaited. And Hrgovic, with the promise of a shot at Dubois written into his contract should he upset Itauma, was going nowhere.

Yet if he does indeed win, Hrgovic, who lost to Dubois on cuts in 2024, will have to wait for another rematch to go ahead first. It was last week confirmed to BoxingScene that Fabio Wardley, beaten to a pulp by Dubois in May, is back in training with view to his contracted sequel with the new WBO boss.

Meanwhile, Fury declared he was going to take on the aging and unfancied Mariusz Wach on July 24 in Thailand, the day before Joshua does battle with Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia.

Alalshikh’s peace summit went ahead in London on July 1. Representatives from Zuffa, Queensberry, Matchroom and DAZN were in attendance. Whether they were all in the same room at the same time remains unknown.

How still the heavyweight waters were when the summit was called. Not even Alalshikh, the division’s puppet master, could have foreseen how rough they were going to get.

On July 7, with Usyk’s abdication official, the WBC confirmed that Kabayel would be given the opportunity to make the first defence of his new championship status against Daniel Dubois.

The pair are slated to meet on September 7 at the O2 Arena in London, a venue that has been the scene of so many significant heavyweight contests. Dubois, 26, lost to Hrgovic on cuts in 2024, while Kabayel, 31, has been inactive since December 2023 when he outpointed Youssouf M’Baye.

There has been no shortage of drama concerning the sanctioning bodies, either. Usyk, who surrendered his titles rather than face Kabayel, is understood to be targeting a farewell bout against Deontay Wilder, who himself needs to bounce back from his knockout defeat to Joseph Parker on December 23. The pair are rumoured to be in negotiations for a contest later this year.

Meanwhile, the IBF’s order for Sanchez to face Itauma for the vacant crown is hanging by a thread. Itauma, 20, is still scheduled to face Hrgovic on August 29, and it is unclear if he will be able to reach an agreement with Sanchez in time for the July 31 deadline.

Hrgovic, 31, remains on a collision course with Itauma, but his own future remains uncertain should he lose to the young challenger. Dubois, 26, is set to rematch Wardley, 30, later this year after suffering a surprise defeat to him in May.

Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions confirmed the Dubois-Wardley rematch last week, stating: “Daniel is contracted to fight Fabio Wardley again. That’s happening, we are trying to get that sorted for later this year.”

Yet the biggest development of all, and the one that has truly reshaped the division, is the news that Anthony Joshua has signed a new contract with Matchroom, with Eddie Hearn confirming the deal on July 1.

Joshua, 34, will fight on September 21 in Saudi Arabia against an opponent yet to be named, but it is understood that the contest will be screened on DAZN pay-per-view, with the winner of this bout possibly facing the victor of Fury’s proposed bout with Wach.