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Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko: Why the world title fight was postponed

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 12:  Anthony Joshua in the ring ahead of his fight against Gary Cornish for the WBC International Heavyweight title & vacant Co

After Anthony Joshua's proposed fight against Wladimir Klitschko was postponed, Sky Sports explains the confusing assortment of world heavyweight championships that led to the hold-up.

IBF champion Joshua will still defend his title at the Manchester Arena on December 10 but will have to wait until next year to face Klitschko, who remains one of the division's marquee names after 20 years in the sport.

Hearn: AJ-Wlad set for 2017
Hearn: AJ-Wlad set for 2017

Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko fight put back until next year

The heavyweight division has been thrown into disarray after Tyson Fury vacated his WBA and WBO belts and we've attempted to explain how the world title confusion has disrupted plans for Joshua-Klitschko...

Did Fury's win over Klitschko trigger the title chaos?

Essentially yes. The mighty Ukrainian was recognised as the undisputed heavyweight champion due to his decade of control over the division. Specifically, he held the IBF, WBO and WBA 'super' belts - only the WBC belt was missing (that's owned by Deontay Wilder). Last November, Klitschko lost all those belts in a points defeat to Fury.

+++ during a press conference at Rheinterassen on November 24, 2015 in Duesseldorf, Germany.
Image: Wladimir Klitschko lost the WBA 'Super', IBF, and WBO titles to Tyson Fury

But then Fury was stripped of one?

The IBF demanded their new champion, Fury, defended against mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov. But he was contracted to the rematch against Klitschko so the IBF stripped Fury just a fortnight after he won the belt.

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That IBF belt now belongs to Joshua…

Correct. But first, the vacant belt was contested between Glazkov and Charles Martin. Remember him?

Well, Martin profited from a knee injury to Glazkov to become IBF champion in January. Three months later he turned up in London, completed with a jewellery-encrusted grill over his teeth, to defend against Joshua.

That didn't end well for Martin…

No it didn't. Joshua knocked him out in two rounds to become IBF champion, and has since defended that belt against Dominic Breazeale.

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Watch Anthony Joshua knock out Charles Martin to lift the IBF crown

Meanwhile, the other belts all belonged to Fury?

Yes, until recently. The WBA 'super' and WBO titles have been left dormant in the possession of Fury whose rematch with Klitschko has been cancelled twice.

Earlier this month, Fury vacated his WBA 'super' and WBO titles (for those concentrating, you'll notice that he has lost all three world titles within a year of winning them, without losing inside the ring).

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Tyson Fury confronted WBC champion Deontay Wilder last January but has since been stripped of his own titles

Hang on - what does 'super' mean?

This is where it gets confusing. The WBA recognises more than one champion in each division, and a recent crackdown on this policy is at the heart of the Joshua-Klitschko collapse.

For example, Gennady Golovkin is the WBA 'super' middleweight champion but Danny Jacobs holds the 'regular' belt, so they have been ordered to fight and decide the overall title-holder. In the heavyweight division, Ruslan Chagaev was the WBA 'regular' champion for two years until he was stopped by Lucas Browne in March.

Didn't Lucas Browne fail a drugs test?

He tested positive for a banned substance after beating Chagaev and was stripped of the WBA 'regular' belt, until the governing body ruled it was "unlikely" that he knowingly cheated.

What's this got to do with Joshua-Klitschko?

After winning a legal settlement, Browne was promised an immediate shot at the WBA 'regular' belt. He is scheduled to face Fres Oquendo.

But Fury's decision to vacate the WBA 'super' belt has impacted on the organisation's future plans and WBA president Gilberto Mendoza has been forced to oversee a fresh ruling on which contenders would challenge for which titles.

Klitschko wanted the WBA to sanction his next fight?

Yes, the old champion is keen to reclaim his belts - as quickly as possible - and wanted one of the WBA titles at stake, along with Joshua's IBF belt. But legal claims are thought to have delayed the WBA's decision, which was initially expected last week, and the lengthy delay meant time ran out for the Joshua-Klitschko camps to get the fight made this year.

Ukrainian IBF and WBO world champion Wladimir Klitschko (R) fights opponent British WBA champion David Haye (L) during their heavyweight title boxing match
Image: Wladimir Klitschko originally reigned as WBA 'Super' champion after beating David Haye in 2011

What about that WBO belt?

The WBO has ruled that Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr will fight for the vacant title and the fight is expected to take place on December 10, the same night as Joshua's title defence...

Why do I remember the name Parker?

Joseph Parker weighed in to face Alexander Dimitrenko
Image: IBF mandatory challenger Joseph Parker has switched his attention to the WBO title

The New Zealander was once considered the front-runner to face Joshua after he defeated Carlos Takam in March to become the IBF mandatory challenger. He's since switched his sights to the WBO belt when it came up for grabs.

So what next?

Joshua will still defend his IBF title on December 10 at Manchester Arena, against a new opponent.

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