- Murat Gassiev's team, led by co-promoter John Wirt, has formally objected to reports that the WBA will create a Super heavyweight title for Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua
- Gassiev holds the WBA regular heavyweight title and says he has defended it “in the ring, not in a press release”
- The fight is set for December 11 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Netflix, and the sanctioning fees on a fight that size are a powerful incentive for the WBA
The Champion Nobody Asked
Right then. Murat Gassiev is the reigning WBA heavyweight champion, and he has just found out that the belt he holds may be about to be sidestepped for a Super title contested by two men who, between them, currently own no world title at all. His team, led by co-promoter John Wirt, has lodged a formal objection. Wirt's line was simple: if anyone is fighting for the WBA Super heavyweight title, it should be the reigning champion, not two boxers with no belts.
Make no mistake, that is a fair argument. Gassiev's own words were sharper. He said he has defended this title in the ring, not in a press release, and that he is ready to fight anyone, Fury, Joshua, whoever. If you know boxing, you know that is exactly what a champion is supposed to say when a sanctioning body starts making up belts around his head.
Why The WBA Will Not Blink
Here is the reality. Fury vs Joshua is finally official for December 11 in Cardiff, it is on Netflix, and it is the biggest heavyweight fight Britain has staged in a generation. A sanctioning fee on a fight of that scale dwarfs anything the WBA would collect from a routine Gassiev mandatory defence. Organisations follow the money, and this one has form for it, having spent years running a regular champion and a Super champion in the same division.
What Gassiev Actually Has
Gassiev is not a fringe name being sentimental about a belt. This is a proper puncher with real cruiserweight pedigree who beat Yunier Dorticos and has climbed the heavyweight division the hard way. If the WBA wants to sell a Super title, the honest route runs through him. The dishonest route is a shiny belt on a Cardiff podium and a champion told to wait his turn.
The Verdict
Let's be realistic. The WBA is going to sanction Fury vs Joshua, because a Netflix-sized fee is not the kind of thing you turn down over principle. But Gassiev's objection is not wasted breath. It puts a public price on the WBA's next move, and it hands Gassiev a very loud claim to the winner. My prediction: the fight goes ahead, the Super belt gets created anyway, and within a year Gassiev is the man the winner is told to face. He has made himself impossible to ignore, and that is the smartest thing a champion in his position could do.