WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman bemoans stagnation of heavyweight division
Jun 06, 2023
Mexico City [Mexico], June 6 : The current World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman pointed out the greed of fighters that is stalling the heavyweight division. He also stated that the WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has been the victim of drama in fight negotiations, as reported by Sky Sports.
Sulaiman agreed that the WBC has to take action as it's already June and there is no confirmation on Fury's next opponent.
"We have to take some action, There are different options. I'm going to address this with the board of governors because already we're entering June and there's no scenario. Tyson Fury will make us proud and show who the WBC champion is," Sulaiman was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
The WBC had earlier booked Deontay Wilder to box Andy Ruiz. The fight was supposed to be a final eliminator that would determine the mandatory challenger for the heavyweight title.
However, the fight was cancelled and the division was still without a challenger for the title against Fury. On the other hand, Oleksandr Usyk has been out of action for even longer he has not boxed since he defeated Anthony Joshua in their August rematch.
"That was announced since November, We've been patiently trying to do that. We didn't push it in the hope that Fury would fight Usyk. So that was all the way to March [when the Fury-Usyk negotiations collapsed]. So we have to take some decisions."
"That's a possibility. If Wilder and Ruiz are not fighting for the final elimination, Joshua's right there at No 3. That's possible," The WBC president said on the possibility of Anthony Joshua fighting Fury for the title as he is ranked in third position with the WBC.
"I don't want to speculate because that would be irresponsible to try to make something up. We have to go through a process. The WBC board of governors will make that decision,"
"At this stage anything is possible. There's too much talent, too many great fights, too many great combinations that could be made for heavyweight and everything is stalled." Sulaiman added.
The heavyweight division is facing a severe problem as they are unable to make the biggest fights. However, Sulaiman is optimistic about the future of the division.
"Of course, there's concern about heavyweight underperforming in the fights that have been done. But that's not the fault of anyone but just greed and power. So hopefully they will come to their senses and make the fights happen. Tyson Fury's the victim of the perils of money, But he's willing to fight anyone and I'm sure he will be active very soon." Sulaiman concluded.
The WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is yet to fight in 2023, he last fought in the ring in December last year.