Main Event’s Ben Damon attempts to clarify the situation in the heavyweight division, despite the fact much may have changed before you have finished reading.
The heavyweights occupy the most glamorous division in boxing, and regularly the most mystifying.
One thing we can be relatively sure of is that former two-time unified world champion Anthony Joshua will fight American Jermaine Franklin this weekend (Sunday morning on Main Event), in a bout aimed at rehabilitating the Englishman’s standing amongst the heavyweight elite.
This 33-year-old version of the captivating Olympic gold medallist is coming off back-to-back points losses to unified champion, fellow Olympic gold medallist and Ukrainian hero Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua has stated he’ll be gunning for a knockout against Franklin, who is best known for a spirited decision loss to former Joshua victim Dillian Whyte in November.
Watch Joshua v Franklin LIVE on Main Event available on Kayo & Foxtel, Sunday April 2 from 4am AEST. ORDER NOW.
A loss for Joshua this weekend might end his career and would certainly conclude, at least for the foreseeable future, his quest for a third stint as world champion.
A win is meant to set up Joshua v Whyte 2 in the British summer but as the sport again begins to cry wolf about the most marketable match-up available there is renewed speculation, yet again, that Joshua could fight Tyson Fury next.
“I like the fact you always dangle carrots in front of me, telling me if I do this, this is here and that’s there always leading onto big things,” said Joshua at the fight week press conference.
“I dream big and I want bigger and better things in my life. I want to secure the bag and move on in my life.”
Joshua appears almost relieved to hold no belts, and gave comment on the state of the top of the division.
“I’m so happy I’m fighting again because when you look at the champions now, it is just a shambles when you are trying to compete with mandatories and negotiations, honestly I can’t believe no fights have been made at championship level.”
“Shambles” is an apt description. At this very moment the ‘undisputed’ fight the division has been moving towards for years looks dead.
There has not been an ‘undisputed’ heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis way back in 2000 but negotiations have collapsed between Usyk (WBO, IBF and WBA champion) and Tyson Fury (WBC champion), at least for now.
Watch Joshua v Franklin LIVE on Main Event available on Kayo & Foxtel, Sunday April 2 from 4am AEST. ORDER NOW.
Billy Dib winning fight of his life | 04:23
Per boxing parlance an ‘undisputed’ champion holds all of the major belts in their division, and there hasn’t been an ‘undisputed’ heavyweight champion at any stage during the ‘four belt era’ began in 2004.
Typically, opinion is divided over the cause of the collapse of the fight for all the belts but many lay blame firmly at the feet of Fury, who has improved monstrously in both his boxing and promotional prowess in recent years to be one of the true modern day giants of the division.
As the Gypsy King has ascended in fame, popularity and wealth, the professionalism of his negotiation technique has been left behind and many, including former two-division world champion Timothy Bradley have been left to question whether he Fury ever wanted to fight Usyk.
“Fury is the one to blame,” said Bradley while hosting on ESPN.
“I’m sick of the mess. I call this a legitimate duck by Fury. He’s ducking Usyk! He didn’t think Usyk was going to take 70/30 (purse split). The goalposts got moved again.”
Usyk representatives have begun talks for him to face the ‘mandatory’ challenger for his WBA ‘super’ belt Daniel Dubois.
In a very ‘boxing’ aside England’s Dubois currently holds the WBA’s ‘regular’ world title, and a clash between him and Usyk would see that frivolous belt dissolved as part of the organisation’s long overdue commitment to consolidate titles in each division.
Dubois was down three times and injured his knee in his most recent fight against Kevin Lerena, and would be a significant underdog in a fight with the skilful Usyk, but he is big and powerful and at least he seems to want the fight.
Another major player in the division is yet another Brit, Joe Joyce, who stopped Dubois in 2020 and now holds an ‘interim’ version of the WBO title.
Joyce will face massive Chinese southpaw Zhilei Zhang in London in a couple of weeks (Sunday 16 April on Main Event) in a fascinating fight that promises to resemble a slow motion collision of monster trucks.
Joyce is huge and punches hard, and might be the most obvious next opponent for Fury who was ringside as Joyce stopped Fury’s Kiwi friend and training partner Joseph Parker last time out.
However there has been plenty of discussion in Joshua v Franklin fight week that Fury v Joshua is back on the table with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn stating that it is “time” to make that fight and Joshua himself claiming that Fury now “needs” him.
Despite the frustration it has provided in recent years the all-English heavyweight showdown remains the biggest fight that can be made in the division but if Joshua beats Franklin and the glamour bout were to be moved towards next then Fury, as the reigning WBC champion and dominant favourite, would be a major ‘A-side’.
That means any negotiations are likely to feature tough deadlines and demands, probably conveyed via Instagram, so it is way too early to get excited about Fury v Joshua happening, again.
Waiting nearby are Americans Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz, who have been ordered to fight each other to determine a contender for Fury’s belt.
The state of those negotiations is unclear but Wilder has long oscillated around Joshua and has stated his interest in facing Usyk, while Ruiz has openly called out Fury since the ‘undisputed’ talks collapsed.
And so the division is delicately balanced, with Joshua v Franklin destined to clarify, or confuse things further.
