Two pieces of big news broke yesterday that are sure to shake up the heavyweight boxing landscape. First, undisputed heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk decided to vacate the WBO title, hence he is officially no longer undisputed. That of course is a mere technicality, as Usyk clearly remains the one and only king of the heavyweight division.
After Usyk made his decision, Fabio Wardley was duly promoted from interim WBO champion to the real deal. Wardley is coming off a recent upset 11th round stoppage victory against the highly regarded Joseph Parker. Wardley’s journey to a championship is compelling.
In other news, Anthony Joshua’s long awaited return to the squared circle was officially announced. Joshua last fought more than a year ago when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in round 5. Paul was originally scheduled to face Gervonta Tank Davis, but that fight fell apart. Joshua vs Paul is something that has been rumored for awhile now, but the fact that it actually came together so abruptly is a bit surprising, if not shocking.
These two seemingly unrelated pieces of news are perhaps more closely intertwined than one might initially suspect. What is next for Oleksandr Usyk? What is next for Fabio Wardley? What do we make of Anthony Joshua set to face Jake Paul? And do Tyson Fury or Agit Kabayel figure into the bigger picture? How do these two new developments impact the heavyweight division?
This edition of Rummy’s Corner will attempt to answer all of those questions while also providing some thoughts and opinions regarding the big breaking news.
In non-heavyweight related news, The Ring IV card is just around the corner, November 22, four world title fights across four different divisions, LIVE – ONLY on DAZN. Click HERE to BUY The Ring IV on DAZN
This is Rummy’s Corner (produced and narrated by Geoffrey Ciani).