Oleksandr Usyk has become interim SportsRatings heavyweight champion prior to his match with #1 rated Tyson Fury.
Fury, though #1 in the SportsRatings rankings, is now officially "inactive" as it has been a year since his last rated win. He beat Derek Chisora on December 3, 2022, and his October win over Francis Ngannou—Ngannou's debut boxing match—doesn't count for Fury.
| -3 Yr |
-1 Yr |
-6 mo |
Nov Rank |
Dec Rank |
Fighter |
Rating
|
Rated Record | November results; •December schedule |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | TYSON FURY | 55.35 | 21-0-1 | --last rated win -12 months. |
| 24 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | OLEKSANDR USYK | 42.10 | 5-0-0 | [Interim HW champion] |
| 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ANDY RUIZ JR | 23.78 | 15-2-0 | --last rated win -14 months. |
| 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | ANTHONY JOSHUA | 20.66 | 19-3-0 | •12/23 vs. #20 OTTO WALLIN |
| 12 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | FRANK SANCHEZ | 20.63 | 7-0-0 | --last rated win -13 months; •12/23 vs. #125 JUNIOR FA |
Usyk rose to the #2 spot with back-to-back wins over current #4 Anthony Joshua but has remained behind Fury for over two years now. The two will settle things in the ring next year, reportedly on February 17. If Fury wins he'll regain his title; if Usyk wins, he can remove the "interim" from his own title.
What if the fight doesn't happen, for whatever reason? Fury would remain inactive and Usyk would remain Interim Champ, at least until next September when he would become inactive, too. Assuming he fights before then, he would remain Interim Champ as long as Fury remains inactive.
How long would Fury have to be inactive for Usyk to become Heavyweight Champion by default? A pretty long time. Fury is well ahead of Usyk in points, so it might be a couple of years. Probably around 20-21 months. But assuming Usyk fights regularly during that time period, it might be around 12-18 months before Usyk overtook Fury.
Let's hope the fight happens so we don't have to worry about that.
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