Tyson Fury is not in the latest IBF heavyweight rankings and has been replaced by Bakhodir Jalolov.
The ‘Gypsy King’ recently lost the first fight of his career as he succumbed to a points defeat in his undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk in May.
Usyk vacated his IBF belt after beating FuryCredit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Following the loss of his WBC crown, Fury became a standard contender and so entered the rankings of the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO like any other fighter.
Now though, the IBF have removed the Briton from their latest heavyweight world rankings.
He has been replaced by heavyweight prospect Jalolov who sits in 13th.
But the reason for this makes sense – the IBF have no need to rank Fury given Usyk has vacated their title.
The loss marked a first for Fury, who will now be targeting the rematchCredit: GETTY
Fury is set to meet Usyk on December 21 in an immediate sequel, which will not involve the IBF.
Instead, only the WBA, WBC and WBO belts are at stake.
As he is challenging for those three instead, Fury has been removed from the rankings of the IBF.
However, Fury could yet become IBF champion again in future if he beats Usyk.
Fury knows he needs revenge to regain his placeCredit: GETTY
This is because it is being planned for the winner of Fury’s revenge bid against the Ukrainian to face the winner of Daniel Dubois’ IBF title defence against Anthony Joshua on September 21.
Dubois was upgraded to IBF world champion after Usyk vacated the belt, given he was the ‘interim’ title-holder.
So Joshua is now the leading ranked contender behind Dubois as he bids to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.
Agit Kabayel, Jared Anderson and Zhilei Zhang sit immediately behind Joshua in the rankings as they look to cement their name in the world title mix.
British pair Joe Joyce and Fabio Wardley sit in 10th and 12th respectively ahead of Jalolov, and it is an exciting time for the blue-riband division.
Fury has already began training for his chance to turn around his loss to ‘The Cat’.
And he has sent Usyk a video message already with months still to go until their next episode.
He said: “Listen up! I’ve conquered everything in boxing – titles, records, the lot. But I’ve never had to come back from a loss.
“On December 21st in Riyadh, in the heart of the kingdom, the king will reclaim his throne and become undisputed.
“@usykaa, I’m coming for you! Get ready for the Gypsy King! The path to redemption is all mine.
“I know what I have to do, I saw my shortcomings and best believe I am inevitable.”
Usyk in typical style has not even responded to the video.
In recent weeks he’s returned to his war-torn home country of Ukraine and been focused on charity work.
He has also taken a holiday and spent time with his family after being away for such a long time in training camp.
Usyk will soon depart once again though and begin to prepare for December 21.