Gassiev says he has no answers on Fury-Joshua WBA title confusion
Murat Gassiev says he still has no clear information on whether Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua will be for his WBA heavyweight belt.
The Russian told BBC Sport the WBA had given him a “big surprise” over his title. He said he has received no messages or papers to explain the situation.
Gassiev said he watched the face-off press conference for Fury and Joshua and saw only the Ring Magazine belt on display. That is the historic title awarded by Ring Magazine, separate from the four major sanctioning bodies. He checked his email afterwards. He found nothing.
The confusion centres on the WBA’s top heavyweight title. Gassiev had held the secondary WBA ‘Regular’ belt since 2025. He was upgraded to WBA ‘Super’ champion in July after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title. The ‘Super’ version is the senior belt, while the ‘Regular’ is a secondary title the WBA sometimes keeps in circulation.
Fury against Joshua is scheduled for 11 December at Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Reports have claimed the bout will be for the WBA title currently held by Gassiev. The claim that Fury-Joshua will be for the WBA ‘Super’ title was reported by The Ring’s Mike Coppinger.
Yet Gassiev is still listed on the WBA website as reigning champion. Fury is ranked number two behind Jarrell Miller. Joshua is ranked number three.
Fury and Joshua are both two-time heavyweight world champions. They held their first face-off in late September ahead of the December date, according to Reuters. Fury is 38 and Joshua is 36.
Gassiev is less familiar to casual fans in Britain, but his record at the top is real. He unified the cruiserweight division — the 200lb class below heavyweight — before moving up. He captured the WBA heavyweight crown on 12 December with a knockout win over Kubrat Pulev in Dubai, then retained it with a stoppage victory over Peter Kadiru.
His promoters have already criticised reports that Fury-Joshua could fight for the ‘Super’ title while Gassiev is the reigning champion.
For fans, this means the biggest all-British heavyweight fight still comes with an asterisk. The fighters, date and stadium are set. The question of what belt, if any, is on the line is not.
