Oleksandr Usyk has ruled the heavyweight division in recent times, twice becoming undisputed heavyweight champion. He has faced the best opposition of this generation, beating some more than once. Following his recent stoppage win over Rico Verhoeven, many have speculated what Usyk would do next. The mercurial Ukrainian has now made his decision, announcing on June 26 through his social media accounts that he has vacated his WBC, IBF, and WBA titles. Usyk had previously vacated his WBO title in November last year. Giving his reaction to the news, Eddie Hearn spoke to Radio Rahim at Seconds Out.
Oleksandr Usyk announces he’s vacating
Through his social media channels, Usyk made the announcement:
“Friends, good afternoon everyone,” said Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) 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.”
Eddie Hearn reacts to Oleksandr Usyk vacating remaining titles
When asked for his reaction to Usyk’s announcement, Hearn said: “My reaction is that when you’re a unified champion, and you’re not gonna face one mandatory, it’s a little bit easier to vacate all the belts than to answer the questions. And I think he’s probably in a position where he’s like, ‘I’ve done so much in the sport; I don’t want to be told who I’ve gotta fight’.
“’I wanna do my own thing. I don’t know when I’m gonna fight. I wanna fight when I wanna fight. I don’t want an order that says I have 30 days to negotiate and the fight must take place in 90 days.’ And if he’s gonna rematch Rico, which, if I were looking after Usyk, I would be telling him to do. That’s his last fight anyway.”
“Why would you fight Kabayel and defend your title. It’s a very tough fight. I think financially, you can make more money to fight Rico; there’s a bit of controversy there. There’s a few unanswered questions. I think he wins very comfortably in the second fight. You can do something in Amsterdam, which would be iconic. This is him saying, ‘one more, and thank you boxing.’”
Featured Image Credit:
Mark Robinson – Matchroom Boxing