A world heavyweight championship fight will keep a low profile on Friday in Dubai.
The WBA 'regular' title is being defended by Kubrat Pulev against Murat Gassiev.
It is a lower-ranking version of the belt held by Oleksandr Usyk, yet this fight could still have ramifications for the queue to face the mighty Ukrainian.
The odd history of the WBA 'regular' heavyweight title
Mahmoud Charr -- a Germany-based contender who survived a shooting outside of the ring -- won the belt in 2017 but bizarrely never defended it. Charr held the belt for four years without stepping into the ring.
He was named 'champion in recess' after 38 months of inactivity, meanwhile Trevor Bryan beat Bermane Stiverne in 2021 to take over as WBA 'regular' champion in a fight promoted by the legendary Don King.
But Charr wasn't done. He returned to knock out Christopher Lovejoy, defending his odd status of 'champion in recess' against a rival with a mysterious 19-0 record built entirely in Mexico without a shred of footage of its existence.
Daniel Dubois then got his hands on titleholder Bryan, and swiftly dispatched him to take over as WBA 'regular' champion. But he lost it in a puff of smoke when he was stopped (the first time) by Usyk in 2023.
So with the WBA 'regular' belt is nobody's hands, what happened next? Charr was reinstated after a court settlement and a year-long dispute.
Charr, who has boxed just four times since originally winning the belt in 2017, was beaten in his first defence by Pulev last year. Pulev, at the age of 44, is now ready to defend it himself.
Pulev should even be fighting Itauma, not Gassiev, Warren has claimed...
Pulev was swiftly ordered by the WBA to fight Britain's rising contender Moses Itauma. But he announced his own plan to instead fight Gassiev on Dec. 12 in Dubai, to the annoyance of Itauma's promoter Frank Warren.
Gassiev is a former IBF cruiserweight champion who lost an undisputed title fight in that division to Usyk, before either moved to heavyweight.
Otto Wallin, the Swede who lost to Joshua and Tyson Fury, has since beaten Gassiev at heavyweight.
Gassiev is ranked at No. 12 with the WBA while Itauma is No. 1 -- yet they sanctioned Pulev's wish "designed to preserve the competitive order of the division".
A 'special permit request' by Pulev was agreed by the WBA, enabling him to face Gassiev rather than Itauma.
What next for the winner of Pulev vs. Gassiev?
As well as walking away with the WBA 'regular' title, the winner must defend the belt against Itauma who retains his status as mandatory challenger.
Itauma is fighting Jermaine Franklin on Jan. 24, in the meantime, to keep his sensational undefeated rise on the go.
The winner of Pulev vs. Gassiev has from Jan. 24 to Feb. 9 to agree a deal to fight Itauma, the WBA confirmed. If there is no deal, the governing body will call for a purse bid with a 50-50 split.
"No further special permits will be granted until Itauma exercises his rights as the mandatory challenger," the WBA clarified.
The race to fight Oleksandr Usyk
Usyk holds the IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight titles.
He knocked out Dubois in their rematch to become undisputed but then vacated the WBO belt, which is now around Fabio Wardley's waist.
The IBF are busy plotting a final eliminator to name Usyk's mandatory, but the champion has other ideas.
He wants to fight Deontay Wilder, who has dropped significantly in the rankings with every governing body after bad losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
It means the holder of the lesser WBA belt could be waiting a while for a shot at Usyk to materialise.