Undisputed world boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk will relinquish all of his heavyweight titles. He announced this on his Instagram page.
Usyk said he is giving up all championship belts, “freeing them for other boxers.” The Ukrainian boxer stated that the decision is deliberate and opens new opportunities for him.
“I want to make all the belts I currently hold free so that the guys waiting in line for them can fight for them. Friends, I am leaving the belts, but I am not leaving the sport, because I have a last dance,” he said in a video address.
“I want to thank all the organizations, I respect them all. And I want to say: more to come. Glory to God for everything. Glory to Ukraine!” he added.
Usyk is thus vacating three major heavyweight titles — WBC, WBA, and IBF — as well as The Ring championship title.
The WBA super championship was held by the Ukrainian after his victory over Anthony Joshua in September 2021, when he first became world champion after moving up to heavyweight.
He added the WBC title after defeating Tyson Fury in May 2024, becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era.
The IBF title also initially went to Usyk after his win over Joshua, but he vacated it before the rematch with Fury. He regained the title in his second fight with Daniel Dubois, which he won by knockout in the fifth round.
The decision to vacate the titles came after a deadline was set for his fight with mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel. The World Boxing Council (WBC) had given the parties until June 30 to agree on a bout.
In addition to the WBC, Usyk also had mandatory challengers from other organizations: British boxer Moses Itauma had the right to fight him under the WBA ranking system, while Cuban Frank Sánchez was the IBF’s mandatory challenger.
