Frank Warren Threatens Lawsuit Against WBC as Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven Looms

The World Boxing Council (WBC) is coming under fire from all sides. After Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson called out its questionable practices, English promoter Frank Warren has now threatened legal action against the sanctioning body. The reason? Mounting frustration over the WBC’s failure to mandate Oleksandr Usyk to defend his title against mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel next.

“Kabayel is number one in the WBC,” Warren told Boxing Scene. “And the fight goes on in Egypt between Usyk and the kickboxer… he’s fighting him, and the WBC afterwards will have to order the mandatory [against Kabayel]. And if they don’t, we will sue them. I’m telling you, I’m not gonna piss around with this. Agit deserves his opportunity—he should be in there. 

Kabayel won the vacant interim WBC title with an impressive win over Zhilei Zhang in February last year. Since then, the German has been patiently waiting for a shot at Usyk, as he defended his title against Damian Knyba in January this year. Usyk, in the meantime, is set to face kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 16 in Egypt. The WBC allowed Usyk to make this voluntary title defense, which is expected to be followed by Deontay Wilder.

The Verhoeven fight has faced ridicule since he has just one boxing match under his belt and clearly doesn’t deserve a title shot. Not to mention, the Ukrainian has a long list of deserving opponents at his disposal. Usyk’s decision to fight Verhoeven puts the division on hold. On top of that, after his expected win, he wishes to face the winner of the May 9’s WBO title fight between Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois, with Tyson Fury after that.

Usyk has defeated both Fury and Dubois twice already, so Frank Warren isn’t willing to wait for his fighter’s turn any longer.

Frank Warren threatens to SUE the WBC if Agit Kabayel is not next for Oleksandr Usyk!

”If they don’t, we will sue them. I’m telling you, I’m not going to p*ss around with this, Kabayel deserves his opportunity, he should be in there, and if anyone tries to duck that fight,… pic.twitter.com/KfFeD3PRbO

— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) April 2, 2026

“And if anyone tries to duck that fight,” Warren added. “Then he’ll have to vacate, it’s as simple as that… We were not gonna stand for it… Why would an organisation not order that fight? Why wouldn’t you? Just sold out in, what was it, in a day, sold out the arena we went in, which we could have sold out three times over, it’s not like he’s some guy where you’re not gonna earn any money, that’s a football stadium, him and Usyk. 

“I want to see it. I’m a big fan [of Usyk], he’s a real warrior, why wouldn’t he want to fight?”

Regardless, the bad news for the WBC is that Warren doesn’t make empty threats. 

Frank Warren is in a legal dispute with Riyadh Season and Sela

The Queensberry boss is at the centre of a major legal dispute involving Riyadh Season and Sela. And this case can have significant consequences for the boxing industry. Warren’s company, Queensberry Promotions, has issued “letters before action,” alleging breach of contract and seeking damages that could reach $1 billion.

Queensberry claims it entered into an exclusive agreement with Sela in September 2023, providing boxing expertise as the Saudi-backed organisation expanded into the sport. The relationship initially appeared productive, with Sela promoting major events such as Tyson Fury’s crossover bout against Francis Ngannou in Riyadh. 

However, tensions escalated after Sela partnered with TKO Group Holdings to launch Zuffa Boxing, a move Queensberry claims was done behind its back. Sela has strongly denied the allegations. 

“We are disappointed by the unfounded claims brought by Queensberry and Frank Warren. We reject them in their entirety and are confident that the facts will fully vindicate our position.” 

Meanwhile, Zuffa Boxing co-founder Turki Alalshikh has already made his ambitions clear when they announced the Zuffa Boxing league last year. 

“I trust (that) this league, in a short time, will crush everything.”

On March 24, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act by voice vote. This allows Zuffa to create its own belts and rankings via forming UBOs. The promotion has also secured a broadcast deal with Paramount and is set to air 12 events each year. 

What’s more, top names in boxing like Jai Opetaia and Conor Benn have already left Matchroom Boxing to fight under the new promotional banner.

Clearly, Frank Warren isn’t afraid to clash with the big players in the sport. Compared to TKO and Turki, WBC might not be able to withstand Warren’s wrath. But do you think Warren’s threat is enough to force WBC’s hand? 

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