World heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, has confirmed he will vacate the title belts currently in his possession, bringing an end to his reign as the holder of the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight crowns.
The undefeated Ukrainian, who is 39 years old, stressed that the move does not signal retirement from boxing. Instead, he described it as a carefully planned step aimed at creating fresh opportunities within the division.
In a video shared on X, Usyk said: “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 am leaving the belts but I’m not leaving the sport because I still have my last dance.”
He captioned the post, “This is a well-considered decision that I am confident will open new opportunities for me. This is not the end of the story. The continuation lies ahead.”
Usyk’s most recent outing came in May, when he secured an 11th-round stoppage victory over Dutch kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven. However, not all of his heavyweight titles were at stake in that contest.
According to Usyk’s sporting director, Sergey Lapin, the decision to relinquish the belts was partly intended to allow former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua an opportunity to compete for reunification honours.
Joshua has previously lost twice to the Ukrainian.
“As for Oleksandr, his goal has always been to finish his legendary career with his final fights in the United States, where he wants to leave the last chapter of his boxing legacy,” Lapin told ESPN.
Usyk’s rise to the top began in the cruiserweight division, where he captured the WBO title in 2016 by defeating Poland’s Krzysztof Glowacki.
Two years later, he added the WBC belt with a victory over Latvia’s Mairis Briedis before unifying the division by claiming the WBA and IBF titles from Murat Gassiev later that same year.
Gassiev, who has since moved up to heavyweight and was Usyk’s mandatory challenger for the WBA title, has now been elevated to champion following the Ukrainian’s decision to vacate his belts.
