So I noticed something this morning that seems incredibly rare these days. TBRB, PBO and Boxrec all agree on the top 5 heavyweights: 1. Fury 2. Usyk 3. Joshua 4. Whyte 5. Wilder Looks like we even have a final four tournament to look forward to in 2022: Fury v Whyte Joshua v Usyk Happy days!
Whyte loses to all of them men Usyk & Fury are the only guys who give each other problems in terms of pure boxing ability Wilder can knock out all of them excluding Fury
Typically in a tournament format Seed #1 matches up with Seed #4, and on the other side Seed #2 with #3. So the WBC mandatory puts #1 v #4, and the rematch clause puts #2 against #3. Or are you predicting the final and a loser's final?
No that's just how I think things should play out next Usyk and Fury already won their semifinals and should face each other in the final next
Ah I see, I suspect that is wishful thinking though. They would need to pay Joshua an exorbitant amount to step aside. Anyway, I think the WBC gave the winner of Fury v Wilder until November 9th to make undisputed, so I doubt it will get done in time. Personally, I'm not against Fury fighting Whyte. After all, Whyte was not only WBC#1 but also WBO#1 when Usyk stepped up claiming a mandatory position for himself.
I wish AJ and E-Hearn would just do the right thing and step aside Usyk and Fury both earned their shot at all the marbles the hard way and I'm sick of having to watch the semifinals again and again. If AJ stepped aside we could see Usyk vs Fury for undisputed in March or April next year instead.
This is where our opinions diverge. For me, Usyk and Fury are just as responsible for this situation as Joshua. Usyk He was WBO mandatory. He didn't need to sign a rematch clause. Joshua would need to pay extra money to have that included in the contract (or he didn't which would be very suspicious...). Fury Mandated by the WBC for fight 2. Both him and Wilder seemed keen on a rematch clauses. Given Fury v Wilder 3 was forced through, Fury is partially to blame for it taking 20 months for him to make his first voluntary defence. So by rights he should defend against Whyte. If Fury and Usyk hadn't signed rematch clauses, Fury could have easily gotten Whyte out of the way this year, and Usyk wouldn't be tied into a rematch clause. Leaving the path open to undisputed early 2022. So for me, Fury and Usyk (and Wilder to an extent) are just as much to blame for the current situation as Joshua and Hearn.
Not necessarily. If Usyk hadn't signed the rematch clause that left the decision with Joshua: 1) Fight Usyk 2) Duck Usyk and be stripped of the WBO title.I don't believe Joshua had any intention of taking option 2, once it was clear that Fury would be fighting Wilder. It was merely bluster from Hearn, given that Joshua's long term goal was to become undisputed. So, that suggests Usyk was more worried about losing a pay day than not getting a title shot. Which is fine by me, it's his career, and he has every right to go after the money; I acknowledge the realities of being a prize fighter. But ultimately he chose to sign that contract. Therefore he is also responsible for the current situation.