The Ukrainian undisputed king has secured the spot that Britain’s ‘Body Snatcher’ wanted

Oleksandr Usyk has been officially named as WBO mandatory challenger in the heavyweight division, the sanctioning body announced on Sunday.

Andy Ruiz Jr is the current champion, although it is thought the mandatory will likely not be called until after his rematch with Anthony Joshua. Therefore it’ll take place early next year.

GETTY 5 Oleksandr Usyk won all the belts at cruiserweight and is now mandatory for the WBO heavyweight title

However, the decision is not a simple one and hasn’t gone down well in some quarters.

British contender Dillian Whyte and his team contested as they believe he should have been given the mandatory position.

Ultimately the WBO decided to opt for Usyk, and the explanation for this ruling can be found below.

Getty 5 Ruiz Jr knocked Joshua down four times and stopped him in the seventh

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Going into this process, Whyte was the WBO’s #1 ranked heavyweight contender and had been for some time.

Meanwhile, Usyk was the undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO cruiserweight champion, which afforded him ‘super champion’ status with the WBO ahead of his move up to heavyweight.

On the Monday after Ruiz’s shock win over Joshua to claim the title, Usyk’s legal team requested that the WBO make him the heavyweight mandatory challenger – owing to his ‘super champion’ status at cruiserweight.

This is because it is one of the sanctioning body’s rules that, if a ‘super champion’ moves up or down a division, they are entitled to become the immediate mandatory challenger – as was seen for Terence Crawford against Jeff Horn last year.

Getty 5 Dillian Whyte strongly made his case to become the WBO mandatory

In response, Whyte’s team replied and argued his number one position and heavyweight résumé meant he was better placed to become the mandatory challenger.

They also stated that Usyk was yet to fight in the division and seeking interim bouts before actually contesting the title, plus he recently pulled out of his heavyweight debut against Carlos Takam due to injury.

Usyk’s team then submitted their own rebuttal and insisted Whyte’s position and résumé should be superseded by their man’s ‘super champion’ status.

They also denied their man is still injured, provided an official medical certificate to prove this, and declared he would be willing to take the mandatory fight immediately if called, whereas Whyte can’t because he’s currently scheduled to face Oscar Rivas on July 20.

Getty 5 Usyk beat Glowacki in Poland, Hunter in America, Huck in Germany, Briedis in Latvia, Gassiev in Russia and Bellew in England

In response to this, Whyte’s team asked the WBO to wait until after July 20 to make their decision. However they didn’t choose to do so.

The WBO instead decided that Usyk’s career achievements to date and well-earned ‘super champion’ status at cruiserweight was enough to grant him the mandatory position.

They concluded that Usyk would be ready to take a fight against the champion now, whereas Whyte has a bout set which could affect proceedings.

Regardless, the mandatory has not yet been called and is not expected until after the Ruiz vs Joshua rematch.