Oleksandr Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) has announced that he is vacating all of his heavyweight world titles.
The Ukrainian made the announcement through his social media accounts on Friday. He was the reigning WBC, IBF, and WBA heavyweight world champion prior to announcing his decision to vacate the titles. Usyk was also the WBO world champion, but vacated the title in November last year.
“Friends, good afternoon everyone,” said Usyk in Ukrainian in a video posted to his social media accounts. “Today is Friday. The weather is beautiful and it’s a good day to say that I want to vacate all the belts I currently hold. I want to make them available so the guys who are next in line can fight for them. Friends, I’m leaving the belts, but I’m not leaving sport because I have my last dance. I want to thank everyone. I have great respect for all [title awarding] organizations. I want to thank everyone and say there’s more to come. Glory to God for everything. Glory to Ukraine.”
What happens to the titles Oleksandr Usyk vacated?
Usyk confirmed in a separate post to X that he is indeed vacating the WBA, IBF, and WBC world titles ahead of what will be his last fight. The fates of those respective belts is not completely unknown. Murat Gassiev holds a secondary version of the WBA title and the organization will very likely confirm his promotion to full titlist soon. Agit Kabayel holds an interim version of the WBC title and his promotion should also be confirmed soon.
The IBF, however, do not have an interim or secondary heavyweight titlist. Frank Sánchez is their current number one contender. Fight fans can expect him to eventually be ordered to fight for the vacant world title against another fighter who is also in the IBF rankings. Who that will be remains to be seen.
What next for Oleksandr Usyk?
Usyk was last seen in the ring defending his WBA and WBC world titles against Rico Verhoeven earlier this year. The Ukrainian won the bout by eleventh round technical knockout. Although he claims his next fight will be his last, it is not clear who the opponent will be or when the bout would take place.
Deontay Wilder expressed an interest in fighting Usyk and had claimed last year that negotiations looked promising (the bout itself never materialized, but may be revisited). Given the circumstances in which the Usyk-Verhoeven fight ended, a rematch may be another option for the former undisputed champion’s last contest. For now, fight fans will simply have to wait on Usyk to announce who his last fight will be against and when it will take place.
Featured Image Credit
Piotr Duszczyk