The WBC has ordered a final heavyweight eliminator between Moses Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) and Lawrence Okolie (22-1, 16 KOs), with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger for Unified Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The match-up puts the WBC’s No. 1 contender (Okolie) against the No. 4 contender (Itauma), who both fight under Queensberry. This fight is conditional, as both men must first emerge victorious from their scheduled upcoming bouts. Itauma faces Jermaine Franklin on January 24. Meanwhile, Okolie is scheduled to fight on December 19 in Lagos, Nigeria, but an opponent has yet to be announced.
Even though the winner will become Usyk’s next mandatory, that doesn’t mean the unified heavyweight champion will take the fight, as he previously decided to vacate his WBO belt rather than defend it against his mandatory challenger Fabio Wardley, not to mention he has already stated that he will not fight Itauma. The WBC has also just granted Usyk a voluntary title defense against Deontay Wilder, so it could be a while before a mandatory defense is enforced.