Moses Itauma will be ordered to fight his British rival for a chance against Oleksandr Usyk
The WBC is set to order a final eliminator between Moses Itauma and one of his domestic rivals, hoping to put the winner in position to challenge for Oleksandr Usyk’s green and gold bracelet.
Despite having relinquished his WBO world title – which had then been awarded to Fabio Wardley – Usyk still holds three of the four major belts in the land of giants.
One of them is the WBC trinket, which the Ukrainian claimed after a monumental points victory over Tyson Fury in May 2024.
Since then, Usyk has been crowned undisputed heavyweight champion twice, with a fifth-round stoppage victory over Daniel Dubois cementing his status in July.
Agit Kabayel worked his way into a favorable position after his sixth round against Zhilei Zhang in February. In theory, the German’s WBC interim title should make him the leading contender to Usyk, who can choose to either relinquish the belt or honor his mandatory obligation.
But while Kabayel rightfully earned his shot at world honors, the WBC is now expected to order a final elimination fight between Itauma and Lawrence Okolie.
🚨 WBC READY TO ORDER ITAUMA-OKOLIE
✅ The WBC has confirmed its intention to order a final eliminator between Lawrence Okolie and Moses Itauma.
👑 Oleksandr Usyk is the WBC heavyweight champion and has been granted a voluntary defense. Agit Kabayel holds the interim title. pic.twitter.com/YOfgjlLApU
— ToutBoxe | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) December 3, 2025
Former cruiserweight world champion Okolie is currently the WBC’s number one contender, just behind Kabayel. Itauma, who is also highly ranked in the WBA, may be ready to explore a different path.
Ultimately, it seems unlikely that the competition between Itauma and Okolie – both promoted by Queensberry – will come to fruition. If the fight were to go through, it is quite possible that the winner of Itauma-Okolie would face Kabayel, with Usyk’s future plans still unclear. The Ukrainian recently revealed that he wants to face former champion Deontay Wilder.
