Deontay Wilder’s hopes of challenging Oleksandr Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title have taken a hit after WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman made clear that Agit Kabayel is next in line. According to Sulaiman, once Usyk completes his planned voluntary defense, he “must” face the interim champion. “He was given that opportunity, and he must fight the interim champion next. That’s the ruling,” Sulaiman said.
That interim champion is Kabayel, who secured the WBC’s secondary belt by stopping Zhilei Zhang and then knocking out Damian Knyba. With the WBC order in place, the path appears fixed: voluntary defense first, mandatory against Kabayel second.
Wilder’s own schedule complicates matters further. The former champion is set to face Derek Chisora on April 4 at London’s O2 Arena. At the press conference, Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel revealed that Usyk had recently approached them about a potential bout, while Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas noted that Wilder is one of the biggest names of this era Usyk has yet to fight. Still, the WBC’s ruling leaves little room to maneuver.
So, unless timelines shift, a WBC title fight between Usyk and Wilder cannot move forward without delaying Kabayel’s mandated shot.
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