Oleksandr Usyk has been looking for a new dance partner since his ninth round stoppage victory over Daniel Dubois this past Saturday in Wroclaw, Poland.
The 21-0 (14 KOs) Ukrainian superstar currently holds the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight world titles. Mandatory challengers are calling. Filip Hrgovic sits at number 1 behind the champion Usyk in the IBF rankings. Promoter Kalle Sauerland didn’t waste any time putting a poster together of Usyk and Hrgovic to promote a potential clash. The IBF being more stringent on mandatory positions than the other three governing bodies appears to have the Croatian in pole position to face Usyk next.
“Only God knows what is going to happen.” Promoter Alexander Krassyuk said in an exclusive interview for ProBox TV. “I won’t disclose everything, I will tell you the direction we are moving in. Everybody wants to see the big fight [with Tyson Fury], the whole world wants to see this. We don’t just want to watch it, we want to make [the fight]. This upcoming week will show us where we are going. But who can guarantee it? Even when Tyson Fury wanted 70/30, and said ‘I’m here’ he wasn’t very decisive in putting his signature on the contract.
“If it is Hrgovic and Tyson Fury escapes again, we will have to comply with the IBF rules and fight the mandatory. Hrgovic is the mandatory challenger. But, Hrgovic is a difficult fight if you are the promoter, Hrgovic is not a very popular name. We will be polite and say it like this, and not many people are interested in watching him fight. So the only power to push it up will be Usyk. You saw that crowd Saturday night, Usyk is very popular. It will be Usyk who collects all the funds for that fight. How can you collect money, let's say on pay-per-view, who is going to buy this fight in the UK. People will buy Usyk, not the fight. That is the difference, it is like Fury-Chisora. They had, I don’t know, 300,000 buys for the big G, Tyson Fury. But let's move on, come on Hrgovic has not been appointed the mandatory challenger next for Usyk. Before this time, we don’t need to think about making this fight. As soon as it arrives we will consider it.”
I pressed the Fury question in the hope of some enthusiasm that could see the sport’s two best heavyweight fighters collide.
“Ahhhhhh, I hope, I hope.” Krassyuk answered, pointing to the sky. “I’m working very hard on it, trust me. I’m trying my best, I want to make this happen. I can’t make it happen without Fury’s consent.”
