Heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua, now has 180 days to defend his title.
President of the World Boxing Organisation, Francisco Varcarcel, said in a statement that Joshua would have to defend his WBO title against mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk.
The implication is that if he does not agree to meet the Ukrainian former cruiserweight king before then, he will be forced to vacate his belt.
The Mail Online reports that If Joshua does vacate his belt, Usyk could face either Dereck Chisora or Joseph Parker for the strap, which would divide the belts further across the division.
On Saturday night, Anthony Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr in their world heavyweight title rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
About Ulysk
Real name Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk
Weight(s)
Cruiserweight
Heavyweight
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1]
Reach 78 in (198 cm)
Nationality Ukrainian
Born 17 January 1987 (age 32)
Simferopol, Ukrainian SSR,
Soviet Union
Stance Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights 17
Wins 17
Wins by KO 13
Losses 0
Medal record
Men’s amateur boxing
Representing Ukraine
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Heavyweight
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Milan Heavyweght
Gold medal – first place 2011 Baku Heavyweight
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Plovdiv Middleweight
Gold medal – first place 2008 Liverpool Light-heavyweight
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk, born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He reigned as the undisputed cruiserweight champion from July 2018 until he vacated his titles in March 2019, being the first cruiserweight in history to hold all four major world championships—the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF and WBO titles.
As an amateur, Usyk won gold medals at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics, both in the heavyweight division. He turned professional in 2013 and won the undisputed cruiserweight championship in his 15th professional fight in 2018. Three of his titles were won during the inaugural World Boxing Super Series, in which he won the Muhammad Ali Trophy, as well as The Ring magazine and lineal cruiserweight titles. For his achievements, Usyk was named the 2018 Fighter of the Year by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Ring, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Usyk is the most recent male boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles since Terence Crawford in 2017, and only the fifth boxer in history to do so after Crawford, Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins, and Cecilia Brækhus. He is the first Ukrainian undisputed champion. Usyk vacated his cruiserweight titles in 2019 to move up to heavyweight.
As of December 2019, Usyk is ranked as the world’s fifth best active boxer, pound for pound, by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and The Ring, and sixth by ESPN, as well as the world’s third best active heavyweight by BoxRec[8] and tenth by ESPN.
