An avenue might have opened up to allow Anthony Joshua a shot at a world title, without the former champion needing to face Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua, a former two-time heavyweight champion, failed to take the IBF title from Dubois in September, losing to his fellow Briton by knockout at Wembley Stadium.

“AJ”, 35, has been linked to a rematch with Dubois, 27, but the latter seems set for a title defence against Joseph Parker in February. Meanwhile, Fury and Usyk will clash for the unified belts on 21 December – seven months after Usyk outpointed the “Gypsy King”.

Usyk became undisputed champion with his win in May, but he soon vacated the IBF belt, meaning interim champion Dubois was elevated.

The Ukrainian will defend the remaining major titles against Fury, including the WBC gold, yet the organisation has agreed to sanction an interim title fight between Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel. And Joshua could challenge the winner of that bout, according to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.

Sulaiman told Sky Sports on Monday (2 December): “The WBC has received a formal request to sanction such a fight for the interim title, and the WBC will accept to sanction it.

“Why? Because we have done everything possible for the past several years to reach the ultimate, great fights in each weight category, especially [at heavyweight].
“All this time we have been perfectly clear and transparent that the WBC will not impose any mandatory that goes against having the ultimate undisputed champion, because they’re fighting the best available.

“There’s no better fight than Usyk vs Fury, so with that fight happening and then the possibilities for the future, we have accepted the No 2 and No 3 to fight for the interim title. Keep them active, and keep the division having the best fights possible.” Kabayel is ranked second, while Zhang is actually seeded fourth – below the much-avoided Martin Bakole.