WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman says that if Anthony Joshua beats Francis Ngannou, he will become the governing body’s No. 1, but he was less clear if that would be enough to earn an immediate title challenge.
Joshua will take on Ngannou on March 8 in the first fight of the year for the pair. Joshua’s last appearance was in Saudi Arabia to headline the Day of Reckoning, where he defeated Otto Wallin.
Ngannou’s last and only bout in the boxing ring was when he rocked Tyson Fury in October, also in Saudi Arabia, before suffering a points defeat.
Both of them fight a month after Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to contest the undisputed status at heavyweight.
Speaking to Gambling.com, Sulaiman said: “Anthony Joshua was first ranked by the WBC when he started as a professional and then he kept moving up and was ranked inside the top five and then number 2 ranked when he received the opportunity to fight for another title (the IBF).
“He has had a sensational career and if he beats Francis Ngannou, then he is number one in the WBC while Francis Ngannou is number 10 so the winner will certainly be positioned for great things in the immediate future.”
However, he was less clear about whether there would be a rematch between Usyk and Fury before any other challengers were given a chance, adding: “We will see what happens as there are fights that need to happen before we elaborate on something else but both Fury vs Usyk and Joshua vs Ngannou are both very interesting fights.
“The WBC already sanctioned Fury v Usyk and the rematch. We received the request and have already accepted a rematch if the promoters put it together so that’s where the WBC stands. If the promoters change their request for the rematch, we will certainly address it.”
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