The WBA has extended Oleksandr Usyk’s mandatory defence period to 24 months.
A statement from the major sanctioning body confirmed that the decision was made ‘with the intention of allowing the fighter to face the most relevant opponents in the division’.
At present, Kubrat Pulev holds the lesser ‘regular’ belt and has been ordered to defend it against No.1 ranked Fabio Wardley.
Meanwhile, ‘super’ champion Usyk has been given two years to fulfil his retirement plan before the WBA intervenes.
Usyk recently revealed that he will hang up his gloves after two more fights, meaning he is likely to have retired by the time his extension with the WBA is up.
Back in February, Usyk told talkSPORT.com that he wanted to fight the winner of Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker next.
The pair were set to duke it out for Dubois’ IBF heavyweight title on the Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev II undercard.
However, Dubois pulled out of the clash with a viral infection.
Martin Bakole then stepped in to save the show on two days’ notice and was subsequently knocked out in the second round.
As his bout with Parker was a voluntary defence, Dubois has no obligation to reschedule the fight and it now appears ‘Triple D’ will go straight into a four-belt shootout with Usyk instead.
This seems to be the preferred option for both parties, with Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren recently joining talkSPORT’s White and Jordan show to confirm that negotiations are underway.
“I met with him and his father and we are working on his next fight,” he said.
“Hopefully we will be in a position to announce that soon, the Usyk fight, I’d love it.
“It’s a great fight, a great rematch and a real story to it. That is the two best heavyweights out there fighting each other.
“If we can get it on, I’d be delighted with that.”
Dubois was upgraded from ‘interim’ to full IBF world champion last year after Usyk was forced to relinquish the belt in order to pursue a rematch with Fury.
‘Triple D’ went on to defend the title by knocking out Anthony Joshua in front of a packed out Wembley Stadium.
He now has the opportunity to exact his revenge over Usyk after the Ukrainian stopped Dubois with a jab in August 2023.
