The winner of Tyson Fury's heavyweight showdown with Anthony Joshua should face Murat Gassiev next, according to former professional boxer Paulie Malignaggi.
Fury and Joshua are set to meet in an all-British heavyweight bout on December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Ahead of the clash, the WBA decided to sanction the fight for its 'super' title.
Gassiev 'done wrong' by WBA decision
Gassiev initially won the WBA 'regular' title against Kubrat Pulev in December. Earlier this year, two-time undisputed heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk vacated his titles, leaving many to view Gassiev as the champion waiting in the wings until the WBA opted to sanction Fury's meeting with Joshua.
Malignaggi feels the Russian boxer has been snubbed and believes the winner of next month's fight should take on Gassiev next.
"Yeah, I wasn't crazy about that. I think it's a bit of a political move by the WBA," Malignaggi told talkSPORT. "I think Murat Gassiev was the one who deserves to be upped. I've seen that it's sort of the move that WBA makes in the past."
"So to just skip by Gassiev and make the WBA title fight, which now is the super title is unfair. But politics play these roles in boxing and money talks and bull***t walks as they say. So unfortunately, I think Murat Gassiev is being done wrong here because I think he should be the guy to be upped and in the very least have dibs on the winner. They should enforce that, but I somehow got a feeling that they're not going to do that."
Joshua eyes Dubois rematch
Should Joshua get his hand raised in Cardiff, one name appears to be on his mind for a next opponent - and it is not Gassiev. According to Eddie Hearn, Joshua wants to avenge his defeat to Daniel Dubois.
The pair met two years ago, with Dubois dropping Joshua multiple times before stopping his rival in the fifth round.
"I can't speak on Tyson's behalf, but for [Joshua], he still wants to be in the biggest fights of the sport," said Hearn. "I've got to be honest with you, and I know it's a very dangerous fight, but he wants to rematch Daniel Dubois. [Joshua] is a competitor, so he's looking at that…and anyone who has ever beaten him, he's rematched, apart from Daniel Dubois."
"He wants to have another go at Daniel Dubois, and this is second nature to him. He wants to try to avenge that defeat. It's a dangerous fight, but if he goes through Tyson Fury and stops Tyson Fury, then why not? That would be for a title unification – or for a fight against [Filip] Hrgovic."
