The World Boxing Council established a new division named ‘bridge weight.’
The newest division will be for boxers weighing 200 pounds with a limit at 224 pounds. It was named after Bridger Walker, a brave young boy that saved his younger sister against a dog attack during the coronavirus pandemic.
It will be the next division before the heavyweight. However, WBC is the only one who created the division; hence, other boxing bodies still have the heavyweight division, 200 pounds with no weight limit.
Oleksandr Usyk was one of the talked boxers when the new division was established. Fans and experts predict that he will be a good fit for it as he is considered a small heavyweight.
However, Usyk will not go to the bridge weight as he has a scheduled fight against the unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Usyk earned the spot after defeating Derrick Chisora via unanimous decision.
“Usyk is a tremendous fighter, one of the best cruiserweights in history. He has had two heavyweight fights, and I leave whoever watched the fight with [Derek] Chisora to reach their conclusions. Of course, Usyk’s mind is in the money that will be generated in a fight with [Anthony] Joshua, as he is the mandatory contender, so, understandably, his mind is set to reach that goal,\” said WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman.
As a former cruiserweight and one of the best in that division jumping to the heavyweight, Usyk was doubted because he will be facing opponents that are bigger and heavier him. But he was able to silence the critics as he is nearing a title match after just two fights in his current division.
Meanwhile, Joshua is not new in facing a smaller opponent as he fought Andy Ruiz Jr. twice.