The heavyweight landscape could soon look a little different after the latest announcement made by the WBA.
The current king at heavyweight is unified ruler Oleksandr Usyk, who won back-to-back fights against Tyson Fury to establish himself as the clear number one in the division.
Their first meeting last May saw Usyk become undisputed, though he had to relinquish the IBF belt in order to fulfil the rematch with Fury in December.
That IBF belt soon found itself in the possession of Daniel Dubois, who himself as emerged as one of the major players in the banner division, as seen when he demolished Anthony Joshua with a fifth round knockout win at Wembley Stadium in September.
There is another man that can claim to be champion in the ranks though, with Kubrat Pulev currently holding the WBA ‘Regular’ belt after he defeated Mahmoud Charr by unanimous decision back in December.
The WBA ‘Regular’ belt is often criticised by boxing fans, who believe it is not necessarily while there is a champion of Usyk’s stature in the division.
Nonetheless, Pulev’s next opponent has now been decided, with the WBA announcing that he will be ordered to make a defence of the belt against unbeaten British star Fabio Wardley.
Wardley – who has 17 knockouts from 18 wins – has burst onto the scene in recent years, and made waves in October when he blasted out Frazer Clarke in the first round to retain his British heavyweight title, leaving Clarke with a fractured upper jaw and cheekbone.
The Pulev and Wardley teams now have until April 4th to negotiate, and the winner must then defend the belt against American contender Michael Hunter within 120 days of their bout taking place.
The WBA also announced that they are granting Usyk a two-year exemption from making a mandatory defence, helping to pave the way for a potential undisputed clash with Dubois.
