Oleksandr Usyk made boxing history on Saturday night by beating Tyson Fury to the undisputed world heavyweight title.
It is the first time the heavyweight division has had an undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis at the turn of the millennium but it will not last for long.
Indeed, Usyk is set to be stripped of the IBF title and ordered to vacate in the next two weeks.
The Ukrainian, who edged a split decision to inflict the first defeat of Fury’s professional career, won the IBF belt by beating Anthony Joshua by way of unanimous decision in 2021.
However, with Usyk and Fury penciled in for a rematch in October, the IBF will almost certainly order a mandatory defence.
Filip Hrgovic is the mandatory challenger and is set to fight Daniel Dubois in Saudi Arabia on Saturday 1 June, 2024.
That fight could become a title bout for the IBF strap, with Joshua slated to fight the winner in September amid his pursuit to become a three-time world heavyweight champion.
Fury has already announced his intention to invoke the rematch clause after suffering the first loss of his career.
“We go back home to our families and we run it back in October,” he said.
“Yeah, for sure [immediate rematch]. We go back, have a little rest up and spend some time with our families and get it back on in October.
“I believe I won the fight, but I’m not going to sit here and cry and make excuses. It was a good fight.”
Promoter Frank Warren, however, was more cautious about the idea.
“It’s what Tyson wants, the clause in the contract says ‘immediate rematch’”, he said.
“We are committed because there’s a contract signed.
“However, Tyson’s got to want to do it and Usyk has got to want to do it. If one of them says, ‘I’ve had enough’ that could be the case, and that would be their choice.”
He added: “I told him he’s been away from his family since last December, two back-to-back training camps, no fight in between, it’s been a long time to be away from his family.
“We don’t have to make any decisions about anything. It’s contracted and, if he wants to go through with it, he’ll go through with it. Who is anybody to pressure Tyson on what he should be doing? That’s his choice, he’s the guy getting in the ring, he’s the guy who’s taking the lumps and that’s how it is.
“At the end of the day with Tyson, he will either want to fight or he won’t want to fight. What I said to him is, ‘If you’re going to retire, don’t retire and then say you want to continue back in a month’s time’, which he does sometimes. So, it’s better to just think it through. There’s no pressure, zero pressure for this.”
