WBO announces USYK is now Mandatory

[boxing_rocks]

What if Usyk doesn't want the shot?

What if he prefers to spend a year acclimating himself to the heavyweight division?

Not unlikely, unless he sees the smaller Ruiz (smaller heightwise, anyways) as eminently beatable.

Usyk requested WBO to make him mandatory.

[Finkel]

From memory, when Joshua fought Povetkin,
The sequence was

WBA
WBO
IBF

It was announced that Povetkin was the WBA mandatory.

This was then complicated because Heaven applied for WBO to recognize Povetkin's WBO mandatory status in the as well.

This is where things get a bit messy.
WBO originally agreed.

So the next in line would be IBF.

Then it was announced like the day before or the day after, that Povetkin wasn't the WBO mandatory. What makes it more confusing, is Povetkins was heavily dropped in the WBO rankings following the fight.

So WBO reinserted themselves before the IBF

So then it looked like

WBO - Usyk
IBF - Pulev
WBA -eliminators proposed

Usyk got injured, people speculated Pulev would be next in line, and Usyk would have to wait until later.

Whyte challenges to be inserted front of the queue

WBO have announced they are in effect holding position

So
WBO - Usyk
IBF - Pulev
WBA

I don't really see IBF forcing the issue given the recent controversy with Pulev

[SenorPipino]

His people are who filed the request with the WBO (per their rules), so you have to figure he wants it.

When he announced he was going to move to heavyweight, Usyk said he wanted a few fights at that weight before challenging Joshua.

Either he sees the somewhat short Ruiz as vulnerable or no longer respects Joshua.

I'm not sure that a fall fight with Takam is sufficient preparation.

[oogiebe]

When he announced he was going to move to heavyweight, Usyk said he wanted a few fights at that weight before challenging Joshua.

Either he sees the somewhat short Ruiz as vulnerable or no longer respects Joshua.

I'm not sure that a fall fight with Takam is sufficient preparation.

I don't disagree, but that's how it went down. Must be both your points in bold.

[Finkel]

Or the Changing landscape forced Usyk's hand.

WBO would go to the back of the queue (or Whyte take the slot), the IBF and WBA aren't going to wait on Usyk to acclimatise.

Given people also want to see a WBC unification and fights with Fury etc. Usyk would potentially be waiting years

[jamamb]

No said they are sure. If Ruiz wins the rematch, no one says the fight with Usyk would have the other three belts on the line, although if AJ wins the rematch I'd expect them to be.

ppl have brought it up though and agreed with each other though, i just dont see why usyk in particular as a challenger wud be likely to split things, under the unified rules him being wbo mandatory will mean he can fight for the others too.

unless you think the winner would want to avoid a dight with him and hence themselves drop the wbo

[oogiebe]

ppl have brought it up though and agreed with each other though, i just dont see why usyk in particular as a challenger wud be likely to split things, under the unified rules him being wbo mandatory will mean he can fight for the others too.

unless you think the winner would want to avoid a dight with him and hence themselves drop the wbo

It's probably my distrust of the boxing world doing the right thing. That's all. I don't think anyone will want to avoid Usyk. It's a big fight.

[Enlightened-One]

who are the wba and ibf mandatorys waiting on there shots

The WBA hasn't had a mandatory challenger since Alexander Povetkin's defeat to AJ.

[ironbeard]

It's probably my distrust of the boxing world doing the right thing. That's all. I don't think anyone will want to avoid Usyk. It's a big fight.

Not as big as Wilder or Fury. Reasonable though.

I think that the injury has altered Team Usyk’s vision. I think they want to avoid the risk of getting sparked or injured in small prize fights. They go for the big fight upfront. If they win they are on top of the world. Even if they lose they will get another shot at a big fight.

[Nondescript]

its a standard thing the wbo does, if the champ at one division moves up he can get a shot right away at the next division, they have this written out in there rules and didnt just create it, im surprised ppl act surprised .

btw i think most fans see the wba as worst, not wbc

I just don't understand why the majority of fighters don't go down the IBF route. That's the one sanctioning body whereby there's a guaranteed shot if you win the eliminators.

[Enlightened-One]

I just don't understand why the majority of fighters don't go down the IBF route. That's the one sanctioning body whereby there's a guaranteed shot if you win the eliminators.

Barring heavyweight, there's the tough 10lbs morning of the fight rules.

Also, the IBF have some sort of daft purse split rules relating to title eliminators, whereby one of the fighters is only entitled to receive a 25% split, with their opponent receiving the 75% remainder (as per the Pulev situation, whereby the likes of Dominic Breazeale , Jarrell Miller and Dillian Whyte refused to all refused to face the Bulgarian for this very reason).

[Nondescript]

Barring heavyweight, there's the tough 10lbs morning of the fight rules.

Also, the IBF have some sort of daft purse split rules relating to title eliminators, whereby one of the fighters is only entitled to receive a 25% split, with their opponent receiving the 75% remainder (as per the Pulev situation, whereby the likes of Dominic Breazeale , Jarrell Miller and Dillian Whyte refused to all refused to face the Bulgarian for this very reason).

It might not be the best purse split situation but atleast you get a guaranteed shot.

[Enlightened-One]

It might not be the best purse split situation but atleast you get a guaranteed shot.

Dillian Whyte would have only been paid $375K to face Kubrat Pulev, with the Bulgarian receiving $1.125m, which is about 7% of the $6.36m purse the Brit allegedly received for the Chisora rematch.

'The Body Snatcher' also rejected the Anthony Joshua rematch, because he was only being paid $5.09m. Interestingly though, Matchroom’s guaranteed purses offered to Jarrell Miller and Andy Ruiz Jr. were said to be in the region of $7m, with both American residents certain to receive additional sums on a commission basis.

Dillian Whyte’s July bout against Oscar Rivas is the fourth PPV event he’s headlined. He’ll command at least thirteen times the amount he would have received had he taken the Pulev fight.

The amount of money the likes of Dominic Breazeale , Jarrell Miller and Dillian Whyte would have received to face Kubrat Pulev would have been significant pay cuts for all three men.

[tiny_acres]

It might not be the best purse split situation but atleast you get a guaranteed shot.

Yrs the purse split sucks. But you are correct it is a guarantee title shot if you win.
If that is your goal which it should be. Then it's the way to go

[keirw]

Maybe Usyk had some inside information that the WBO were considering making Whyte or even Fury mandatory and didn't want to wait 18 months for his shot.

I doubt this means the belts would split as Usyk is injured and won't be putting pressure on the WBO to hurry up his shot.

Most likely he faces Takam on Ruiz/Joshua 2 card and then begins negotiations with the winner.

With Whyte likely to be in line for a WBC shot next year, it means that even if Joshua loses the rematch Matchroom could still have a big stake in the Heavyweight division.

[Nondescript]

Dillian Whyte would have only been paid $375K to face Kubrat Pulev, with the Bulgarian receiving $1.125m, which is about 7% of the $6.36m purse he allegedly received for the Chisora rematch.

'The Body Snatcher' also rejected the Anthony Joshua rematch, because he was only being paid $5.09m. Interestingly though, Matchroom’s guaranteed purses offered to Jarrell Miller and Andy Ruiz Jr. were said to be in the region of $7m, with both American residents certain to receive additional sums on a commission basis.

Dillian Whyte’s July bout against Oscar Rivas is the fourth PPV event he’s headlined.

The amount of money the likes of Dominic Breazeale , Jarrell Miller and Dillian Whyte would have received to face Kubrat Pulev would have been significant pay cuts for all three men.

That was with DAZN money though. They wanted Joshua to fight an American for his American debut, so Whyte was never going to get those kind of offers.

The $5.9 million he was being offered to fight Joshua was for the fight to take place in the UK on sky sports box office.

Both Miller or Ruiz jnr aren't as big a commercial draw as Whyte but that's only in the UK market, and again DAZN were not interested in Whyte for Joshuas debut.

[Enlightened-One]

Maybe Usyk had some inside information that the WBO were considering making Whyte or even Fury mandatory and didn't want to wait 18 months for his shot.

The WBO rules cater for two mandatory challengers. Usyk was guaranteed his mandatory challenger position due to his "super champion" status.

The Ukraine is obviously being opportunistic. I also feel that Matchroom would have encouraged Oleksandr to demand the WBO mandatory challenger status, as it’ll be their final bout of their three-fight deal.

Let’s not forget that Andy Ruiz Jr. is a PBC fighter and if the Mexican-American eventually proves his victory over AJ wasn’t a fluke, then Al Haymon’s fighters would own the WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles.

So Usyk might have been tempted to join the PBC ranks had his deal with Matchroom been allowed to expire without receiving his mandated shot at the world heavyweight title.

[Enlightened-One]

That was with DAZN money though. They wanted Joshua to fight an American for his American debut, so Whyte was never going to get those kind of offers.

The $5.9 million he was being offered to fight Joshua was for the fight to take place in the UK on sky sports box office.

Both Miller or Ruiz jnr aren't as big a commercial draw as Whyte but that's only in the UK market, and again DAZN were not interested in Whyte for Joshuas debut.

You're missing the point I'm eluding to.

Any fighter that is accustomed to being paid $6m+ per fight isn't going to accept $375K to face Kubat Pulev, especially if he is unwilling to take a $1.27m pay cut from his usual fee for the Anthony Joshua rematch.

And let’s not forget that Dominic Breazeale and Jarrell Miller also refused to consider taking significant pay cuts to engage in the IBF’s title eliminator against Kubrat Pulev.

Professional boxers are known as “PRIZE fighters” not “PRIDE fighters” for a reason!

[oogiebe]

You're missing the point I'm eluding to.

Any fighter that is accustomed to being paid $6m+ per fight isn't going to accept $375K to face Kubat Pulev, especially if he is unwilling to take a $1.27m pay cut from his usual fee for the Anthony Joshua rematch.

And let’s not forget that Dominic Breazeale and Jarrell Miller also refused to consider taking significant pay cuts to engage in the IBF’s title eliminator against Kubrat Pulev.

Professional boxers are known as “PRIZE fighters” not “PRIDE fighters” for a reason!

If those numbers are correct, then Whyte had a good reason to refuse Pulev.

[Nondescript]

You're missing the point I'm eluding to.

Any fighter that is accustomed to being paid $6m+ per fight isn't going to accept $375K to face Kubat Pulev, especially if he is unwilling to take a $1.27m pay cut from his usual fee for the Anthony Joshua rematch.

And let’s not forget that Dominic Breazeale and Jarrell Miller also refused to consider taking significant pay cuts to engage in the IBF’s title eliminator against Kubrat Pulev.

Professional boxers are known as “PRIZE fighters” not “PRIDE fighters” for a reason!

I get what you're saying EO, but then you cant really complain that you're not getting your shot, if you actually have been offered a final eliminator, but turned it down because you wernt happy with the money on offer.

Some times you have to think of the big picture and accept a pay cut knowing that if you get the belt, you'll be in a position for much bigger paydays which will make up for that one time you had to accept a crappy deal.

[tiny_acres]

Some times you have to think of the big picture and accept a pay cut knowing that if you get the belt, you'll be in a position for much bigger paydays which will make up for that one time you had to accept a crappy deal.

I've seen numerous people say the same thing. Sometimes you have to take a crappy pay day to secure the big one

[Enlightened-One]

I get what you're saying EO, but then you cant really complain that you're not getting your shot, if you actually have been offered a final eliminator, but turned it down because you wernt happy with the money on offer.

Some times you have to think of the big picture and accept a pay cut knowing that if you get the belt, you'll be in a position for much bigger paydays which will make up for that one time you had to accept a crappy deal.

His team would have also had to take significant pay cuts though, as they’ll usually be paid on a percentage basis, unless Whyte dipped into his own pocket to address the deficit (i.e. trainer = 10%; cutman = 2%; strength & conditioning coach = 3%; sanctioning fees = 3% [per governing body]; with tax being deducted from the remainder).

So if Dillian’s trainer, Mark Tibbs, usually earns approx. $600K+ per bout, then he would have only been paid $37.5K for the Kubrat Pulev title eliminator.

Put it this way, if your employer negotiated a deal with a client, but agreed to offering their services at a discounted rate, where the customer only paid 7% of the usual price.

And you were then told by your boss that you’d only be paid 7% of your usual salary to do your job.

Would you be happy?

Remember, Dillian Whyte earned $6.36m for the Chisora rematch and was only going to receive $375K to face Kubrat Pulev, with the Bulgarian receiving $1.125m.

Can you name any fighter in the history of the sport that has willingly accepted a 93% reduction in their usual purse for the sake of competing in a final eliminator?

[keirw]

The split was a joke that made it almost impossible for Matchroom to win the bids without making a huge loss as Whyte wasn't a PPV fighter at the time. Nobody in the UK would pay to what Pulev anyway.

If I remember correctly, Parker was his first PPV and that was announced shortly after the Pulev fight fell through.

Not sure what he was paid for Helenious and Browne but it wouldn't have been much more than he would have got for Pulev. So at the time a fair few eyebrows were raised (until the Parker fight was announced anyway).

In hindsight it was the correct call, he has earned millions and established himself as a respectable contender.

Beating Pulev wouldn't have made the Joshua fight happen any sooner anyway.

[Onetimeonly]

From memory, when Joshua fought Povetkin,
The sequence was

WBA
WBO
IBF

It was announced that Povetkin was the WBA mandatory.

This was then complicated because Heaven applied for WBO to recognize Povetkin's WBO mandatory status in the as well.

This is where things get a bit messy.
WBO originally agreed.

So the next in line would be IBF.

Then it was announced like the day before or the day after, that Povetkin wasn't the WBO mandatory. What makes it more confusing, is Povetkins was heavily dropped in the WBO rankings following the fight.

So WBO reinserted themselves before the IBF

So then it looked like

WBO - Usyk
IBF - Pulev
WBA -eliminators proposed

Usyk got injured, people speculated Pulev would be next in line, and Usyk would have to wait until later.

Whyte challenges to be inserted front of the queue

WBO have announced they are in effect holding position

So
WBO - Usyk
IBF - Pulev
WBA

I don't really see IBF forcing the issue given the recent controversy with Pulev

The ibf always pushes the issue.

[Nondescript]

The split was a joke that made it almost impossible for Matchroom to win the bids without making a huge loss as Whyte wasn't a PPV fighter at the time. Nobody in the UK would pay to what Pulev anyway.

If I remember correctly, Parker was his first PPV and that was announced shortly after the Pulev fight fell through.

Not sure what he was paid for Helenious and Browne but it wouldn't have been much more than he would have got for Pulev. So at the time a fair few eyebrows were raised (until the Parker fight was announced anyway).

In hindsight it was the correct call, he has earned millions and established himself as a respectable contender.

Beating Pulev wouldn't have made the Joshua fight happen any sooner anyway.

The fight was gonna happen in Bulgaria. It was all set to go and then Hearn and Whyte decided to pull out at the last minute.