heavyweight title after the Briton agreed to a rematch with Wladimir
Klitschko.
The IBF’s mandatory challenger for was to be Vyacheslav Glazkov, a
Ukrainian boxer who has won 21 of his 22 fights. Fury instead elected to
grant Klitschko, who
Fury defeated two weeks
ago to obtain the title, his contractually-obligated rematch, which Klitschko
announced he would activate
last week.
“It’s true he’s been stripped of the IBF belt,” Lindsey Tucker, the
IBF’s championship chairman, told the BBC on Tuesday. “Our challengar
was Vyacheslav Glazkov but instead Fury’s gone and signed a rematch
clause with Wladimir Klitschko.
The decision opens the door for undefeated Briton Anthony Joshua, who
fights Dillian Whyte this Saturday, to become the number one contender
next year. Fury still holds the WBA, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles. No
date or venue has been chosen for the Fury-Klitschko rematch.
dv / (Reuters)