Canelo Alvarez facing William Scull and Oleksandr Usyk lining up a rematch with Daniel Dubois has caused a stir in the sport of boxing.
The fact both champions were stripped of the IBF title only to face their mandatory opponents anyway months later has bred calls for more leniency from the sanctioning body.
Instead of enforcing rules within days, as former champions Tyson Fury, plus Canelo, and Terence Crawford suffered in the lower weight classes, the International Boxing Federation is being urged to negotiate instead of condemning titleholders.
Canelo vs. Scull and Usyk vs. Dubois were ordered recently and will eventually take place, leaving the need to hand belts over far more quickly to fighters than facing the current king, which undoubtedly needs an overhaul. Scull and Dubois can call themselves world champions without earning the right first-off when they should have been made to battle Canelo and Usyk as challengers.
Scull faces Canelo on May 3 as part of Riyadh Season, while Dubois and Usyk are in talks to collide at Wembley Stadium in the summer. Both match-ups will be undisputed, allowing Canelo and Usyk to become two-time four-belt holders [WBC, WBO, WBA, and IBF] merely due to the IBF’s trigger finger.
International Boxing Federation rules
Professional boxing faces enough criticism without the addition of rules and regulations that make little sense, which is usually accustomed to the WBA.
The World Boxing Organization has long questioned the World Boxing Association’s actions, and if they aren’t careful, the IBF could join them under scrutiny.
World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman and WBO counterpart Gustavo Olivieri Esq. hope that – given additional time, they can bring all four major sanctioning bodies together. Right now, that feedback seems to be worlds apart.
It’s hoped the IBF applies delays to its future decisions, at least for a few weeks or months, to give space to the belt holders to comply. Far too often, the need to act overtakes common sense, which could have been applied to both upcoming events.
Canelo and Usyk should still be undisputed champions, which lies firmly at the doorstep of the IBF as they aim to win back the titles they never lost in the ring.
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The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay. Learn more, and read all articles from the experienced boxing writer.
