03-14-2025, 04:55 PM
Sorry, don't agree. If the WBO says JP is the mandatory, and Usyk has to fight him for the belt, the WBO would look pretty stupid to backtrack and say that the unification trumps what they've already declared in the media and to JP and Usyk.
If Usyk refuses to fight JP, of course they can strip him, and have done so before. The WBO came out and says "them's the rules we live by as the WBO." They want one champion, and want to remove JP from the Interim status (why they put him there in the first place is beyond me). It would not hurt the WBO at all to fight for a JP/Usyk clash, and if Usyk refuses, have a box-off for the title while DDD/Usyk do their thing. Or just list JP as the WBO champ by default.
If Usyk refuses to fight JP, of course they can strip him, and have done so before. The WBO came out and says "them's the rules we live by as the WBO." They want one champion, and want to remove JP from the Interim status (why they put him there in the first place is beyond me). It would not hurt the WBO at all to fight for a JP/Usyk clash, and if Usyk refuses, have a box-off for the title while DDD/Usyk do their thing. Or just list JP as the WBO champ by default.