Fury vs Charr faces WBC rating obstacle despite mysterious boost

Any plans Frank Warren has to stage Fury vs Charr on December 3rd will need some explaining by the World Boxing Council.

Mahmoud Charr cannot challenge Tyson Fury for the WBC heavyweight title after entering the new WBC Ratings for September.

World Boxing News explained that Charr previously had no chance of being sanctioned for a Fury world championship bout due to his ranking.

The German-based fighter was not in the Top 40, let alone the Top 15, where he needed to be for a voluntary sanction.

Fury vs Charr

The WBC mysteriously elevated Charr two weeks ago despite not fighting whatsoever since May. It’s dumbfounding how a boxer can move at least 22 places up the rankings without winning a fight in the previous month.

However, this still isn’t efficient enough for a Fury vs Charr clash in November or December.

Fury stated on social media he wants to fight this winter on UK soil. Anthony Joshua is his preferred choice. Charr has been sounded out in the eventuality that AJ doesn’t agree to the terms.

But that backup is off the table unless Warren can persuade the WBC to allow Charr to be voluntary. Fury has ambitions to defend the title against Charr due to the continued delay and Joshua’s uncertainty.

Joshua entered the rankings at number six despite losing in Saudi Arabia last month, a high enough position to challenge for the green and gold strap if a deal finally gets over the line.

If it doesn’t, Fury has few options for that voluntary defense. At this point, Charr would need to ask for a special exception.

Tyson Fury’s WBC fight options

If the WBC doesn’t sanction Charr, Fury will be forced to look elsewhere. WBN lists the realistic options below.

Derek Chisora moved up two more places after beating Kubrat Pulev earlier this year. Fury has mentioned “WAR” on more than one occasion for a trilogy fight.

Martin Bakole becomes another solid option due to his UK ties. But it has to be said that it is slim pickings for Fury out of those three.

The rest of the top fifteen are either out of commission due to upcoming fights or have low interest for a UK Pay Per View.

Otto Wallin, who Fury defeated controversially in 2019, would be a fourth potential contender. The Swede exclusively aired his views to WBN regarding a possible rematch earlier this month.

“Yes, I am ready to fight him again. But I think he won’t fight me unless I become the mandatory challenger and he’s forced to fight me,” Wallin told WBN.

“I think the cuts that he had were very bad. He had 47 stitches after the fight. If I had those cuts, the doctors would have stopped the fight, for sure.”

British boxing fans are hoping for Fury vs Joshua in December before a rematch between April and June next year.

WBC Ratings – Heavyweight [September 2022]:

1 Deontay Wilder US2 Andy Ruiz Jr. Mexico/US3 Frank Sanchez Cuba CONTINENTAL AMERICAS4 Robert Helenius Finland5 Arslanbek Makhmudov Russia/Canada NABF6 Anthony Joshua GB7 Dillian Whyte GB8 Otto Wallin Sweden9 Martin Bakole Congo/GB10 Zhan Kossobutskiy Kazakhstan INTL11 Luis Ortiz Cuba12 Michael Hunter US13 Dereck Chisora GB14 Filip Hrgovic Croatia15 Efe Ajagba Nigeria/US

WBC voluntary cut-off

16 Agit Kabayel Germany17 Murat Gassiev Russia18 Jared Anderson US19 Mahmoud Charr Libya20 Zhilei Zhang China

**Usyk is not rated as a unified champion.

WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.