Lewis Edmondson insists his next priority is a return with Daniel Lapin rather than a mandatory defence against domestic rival Ezra Taylor.
The Southampton southpaw, now 11-1 (3 KOs), dropped a highly-debated majority decision to Lapin, 12-0 (4 KOs), on the Usyk-Dubois II undercard at Wembley this month but maintains he deserved the verdict.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to says I won,” Edmondson said. “Lapin was hanging over the ropes twice in the eighth and told the referee ‘no, no, no’. If he wasn’t Usyk’s fighter the bout would have been waved off.”
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Edmondson’s British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight belts are already under threat from unbeaten mandatory challenger Ezra Taylor (12-0, 8 KOs). The pair have until 13 August to strike a deal before the BBBofC calls purse bids.
Yet the 29-year-old is prepared to relinquish those titles should Frank Warren and Billy Joe Saunders secure a Lapin rematch for late 2025.
“If I have to vacate the British to get Lapin back in the ring, I’ll do it,” Edmondson said. “This is the fight I want before anything else.”
It's rumoured also that the talks between Saunders and Team Usyk’s Sergey Lapin have begun, but no agreement is yet in place.
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