LONDON, (Reuters) – World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has been stripped of his IBF title, one of three he won by beating Wladimir Klitschko, after agreeing to a contracted rematch with the Ukrainian instead of fighting the IBF’s mandatory challenger.
“It’s true he’s been stripped of his IBF belt,” Lindsey Tucker, IBF championships chairman, told the BBC on Tuesday.
“Our challenger was Vyacheslav Glazkov, but instead Fury’s gone and signed a rematch clause with Wladimir Klitschko.”
The 31-year-old Ukrainian Glazkov has a 21-1 record.
Fury beat Klitschko, who had reigned as world champion for 11 years, on points on Nov. 28 to take his unbeaten record to 25 professional fights.
The contract for last month’s title fight in Dusseldorf included a rematch clause, which 39-year-old Klitschko said last week he had decided to exercise.
A date and venue have yet to be confirmed.
The win earned Fury three versions of the heavyweight crown – the WBA, WBO and IBF – with American Deontay Wilder holding the WBC belt.
