Tyson Fury is now officially without a mandatory opponent after the WBC chose not to order a title defence against Dillian Whyte.
The Gypsy King was given a window of 30 days following his victory over Deontay Wilder to agree a fight with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
However, this quickly became impossible after Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua, with the Brit invoking his rematch clause.
The pair will now face one another early in 2022.
This means Fury could be without an opponent until after that fight - leading to speculation about an extended break away from the ring.
Fury's trainer SugarHill Steward has now spoken out about the ruling, claiming that the heavyweight champion has now earned the right to choose his own opponents.
Speaking to Behind The Gloves, Steward said: "Let the champ fight. Let him fight whoever he wants to fight.
"He’s been sitting and he wants to fight, so let him fight. Other than that it doesn’t bother me at all, I don’t care who he fights actually.
"He wants to fight, he wants to stay busy, he wants to continue to learn and to grow and he wants to knock people out."
Many had presumed that Whyte would be granted the mandatory challenger after pulling out of his fight with Otto Wallin.
But the WBC said that they cannot order the bout due to legal reasons, leaving Whyte's camp reportedly furious.
