The World Boxing Council ordered interim heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman to fight James Toney, and the winner to meet Oleg Maskaev.
The challengers were named on Friday ”with the goal of ratifying the indisputable championship of Rahman and in order for him to make his obligatory defence” the WBC said in a news release.
Rahman was voted WBC champ on November 10, a day after titleholder Vitali Klitschko retired with a knee ligament tear. Injuries forced Klitschko to postpone a title defence against Rahman four times this year.
Rahman regained the WBC title he’d won from Lennox Lewis in 2001, before losing it back to Lewis later the same year.
Toney won the WBA title in April by beating John Ruiz, but then he tested positive for steroids, was stripped of the title, banned from boxing for 90 days, and banned from fighting for the WBA belt for two years.
Last month, Toney beat Dominick Guinn easily in 12 rounds to improve his record to 70-4-2, and retain the fringe IBA title.
Maskaev, a United States-based Kazakh, last weekend won a unanimous decision over Sinan Samil Sam in Hamburg, Germany in what was regarded as a WBC heavyweight eliminator. He has 32 wins in 37 fights. – Sapa-AP