5 POSSIBLE Heavyweight World Title Fights After Usyk Vacates

Recently, in the world of boxing, a massive bombshell was dropped. Oleksandr Usyk announced that he would vacate his WBA, WBC and IBF Heavyweight world titles – though he stressed he is not retiring from the sport.

For many top Heavyweights on the scene, this presents a massive opportunity. With the belts scattered, they now have the opportunity to possibly collect one (or two) of them.

As such, we thought it was time for a fun little thought exercise. What Heavyweight title fights could potentially be made in the near future, with two of the belts now being vacant? Recently, Agit Kabayel has been given the WBC Championship, as reported by Boxing News 24.

Of course, there is always the possibility that some of them may simply be awarded to top ranked fighters. That’s boring, though – no-one wants to see that. This list is merely speculative – we’re looking at fights that could happen. We’re not looking at fights that we think neccesarily will happen (or even should happen).

The WBO Championship, as well as the WBC, isn’t vacant, currently held by Daniel Dubois after he defeated Fabio Wardley in an all-time barn-burner.

Looking at the current Heavyweight rankings, provided by BoxingScene, here is what we came up with. Who would you like to see battling it out for a Heavyweight world title this year?

Moses Itauma vs Frank Sanchez (IBF)

As a quick disclaimer, get used to seeing Moses Itauma in this list. He is ranked at #3 by the IBF and the WBC, whilst being ranked #1 by the WBA. We’re not quite sure why, given his limited strength of schedule – but that’s boxing politics for you.

After he knocked Richard Torrez Jr. out within two rounds in his previous outing, Frank Sanchez rocketed up the Heavyweight rankings after a couple of years of obscurity. He’s ranked #1 by the IBF, while Itauma is at #3 – curiously, there doesn’t seem to be anyone in the #2 slot.

Two hard-hitting, technically-sound southpaws would make for a unique Heavyweight clash – it doesn’t sound too interesting at face value, but Sanchez vs Itauma could be a fascinating contest if made official. It probably won’t, but if the IBF opt to honour their current rankings, it certainly may.

Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic (IBF)

Itauma is already scheduled to fight Filip Hrgovic on August 29 – with the IBF belt now vacant, it’s entirely possible that this bout will be upgraded to a world title fight, if the powers that be can pull one or two strings behind the scenes.

We’ve already mentioned that Itauma is ranked #3 – Hrgovic, meanwhile, is ranked #4. Tyson Fury is #1 (for some reason) while Lawrence Okolie is ranked #2 – of course, ‘The Sauce’ is undergoing a ban after failing a PED test, so he is out of the picture for now.

But, whether it is for a title or not, who wins this one? Itauma hits incredibly hard, while Hrgovic has a habit of blocking punches with his face – this could be a lethal combination for ‘El Animal’. Nevertheless, we also don’t know how Itauma will deal with the Croatian’s jab and his high output. Hrgovic is very susceptible to cuts – even Dave Allen, for what precious little success he had, managed to open up a little nick on him. Could this be the deciding factor?

Murat Gassiev vs Moses Itauma (WBA)

Comfortably the least enticing fight on our list – also, we promise this is the last time you’ll see Itauma (in this article, anyway)! As the WBA ‘regular’ champion, Murat Gassiev may have first dibs on the real thing, but Itauma is ranked #1. As such, a fight between the two makes sense when this logic is applied.

To be honest, if this fight does take place, it will probably only serve as a glorified coronation for the 21-year-old. Gassiev possesses a wicked left hook and has excellent timing, but Itauma’s lightning-quick hands and feet should quickly overwhelm the former Cruiserweight champion.

We’ll be frank – we don’t really want to see this one. Itauma vs Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua would be far more interesting, as they are ranked #3 and #4 (respectively), but neither of them will particularly want a fight against Moses at this stage. Funnily enough, Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller is ranked #2 – Miller vs Gassiev, anyone?

Agit Kabayel vs Tyson Fury (WBC)

Agit Kabayel had been waiting for a title shot for quite some time – it’s great to see him as the new world champion, even if he didn’t win it in the way he might’ve liked. Usyk’s decision to fight Rico Verhoeven instead of the German bulldozer was frustrating, to say the least. As newly-crowned WBC champion, he might well be awarded the vacant belt soon – and Tyson Fury is the highest ranked challenger.

We don’t agree with Fury being so high up, but hey – we don’t make the rules. There was actually talk of Fury taking on Kabayel a couple of weeks ago [via DAZN] if his proposed bout with Anthony Joshua collapsed – adding a world title to the mix would make this fight much more enticing to ‘The Gypsy King’.

In theory, we think this has potential to be an enthralling bout. Kabayel would give Fury plenty of trouble, working the body and throwing deadly combinations, but he is always open to uppercuts due to his front-foot, lean-forward approach. Fury can certainly throw a mean rear uppercut – just ask Dillian Whyte.

Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua (WBA)

Here it is. We’re going to be completely candid – now that the belts are vacant, it is highly, highly likely that those in power will do everything they can to make Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua a world title fight. It doesn’t need to be and it probably shouldn’t be either, but as the most star power-driven fight on our list, that’s just the way it goes sometimes.

With that being said, a few factors are still hanging in the balance. Joshua still needs to make it beyond Kristian Prenga – furthermore, we all know how difficult Fury can be to negotiate with at times. As things stand, Fury is ranked #3 by the WBA, while Joshua is ranked #4. If he bowls over Prenga, which is likely, he’ll probably move up a few places.

Fury himself has a proposed tune-up bout in the works, though his opponent has yet to be confirmed. At the end of the day, money talks – and in boxing, money is king.