30 November 2020

WBC president Sulaiman excited for undisputed clash between ‘champion’ Fury and ‘gentleman’ Joshua

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman believes an undisputed clash between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua next year would be ‘tremendous’ for boxing.

Sulaiman, who has praised his organisation’s heavyweight champion Fury ever since his win over Deontay Wilder in February, also confirmed nothing will stand in the way of the two Brits meeting in 2021.

Fury won the WBC belt for the first time back in February

(SIPA USA/PA Images)

"There's absolutely great hope from the world to see that undisputed fight," he told Sky Sports.

"Tyson Fury is our champion, our pride. Anthony Joshua holds the other belts and he has been a tremendous asset to the sport. A gentleman, a great career.

"To see this showdown, Fury-Joshua, would be tremendous for everyone in the sport of boxing. We will absolutely support it.

"The WBC has no blocks right now. There is no mandatory contender. There is an issue that we are aware that Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder have some sort of mediation process going on and that's the only thing, but we don't have any details.

"We're just hoping that everything gets resolved and everybody is happy and we see great fights inside the ring."

However, two major hurdles stand in the way of a Fury-Joshua fight next year.

Joshua holds the other three major heavyweight world titles

(PA Wire)

The first is Joshua’s fight against Kubrat Pulev in London on December 12, with a defeat for the Brit destroying any hope of an undisputed clash in the near future.

And then there is the legal battle between Fury and Wilder which is currently going through mediation as the American looks to force a trilogy fight in the early part of next year.

There is also a chance Oleksandr Usyk could be called as Joshua’s WBO mandatory in the next few months, but AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn has said there may be a way where the Watford man is able to relinquish the belt after facing Fury.

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