The fragmentation of the heavyweight crown has begun.

Last night it was confirmed that new unified champ Tyson Fury is to have the IBF portion of his championship stripped.

The former Irish champion is being relieved of the red belt due to his ‘refusal’ to face number one mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov [21(13)-0-1].

This refusal is due to Fury’s contractual obligation to face former champ Wladimir Klitschko, whom the Manchester-born giant outpointed last month to end his nine year stranglehold of the division.

The IBF have now decreed that Russia’s Glazkov is to face number four-rated American slugger Charles Martin [22(20)-0-1] for the now-vacant belt.

Fury now possesses the WBA and WBO belts, as well as the lightly regarded IBO belt and, perhaps most importantly in pure terms, is viewed as the champion by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and holds Lineal crown