Oleksandr Usyk Vacates Heavyweight Titles But Promises ‘Last Dance’

Oleksandr Usyk has vacated his WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles, but has insisted he has not retired from boxing. The unbeaten Ukrainian said the belts will now be made available to the contenders behind him while he prepares for one final fight.

The move brings an end to Usyk’s title reign at heavyweight and immediately changes the direction of the division. The 39-year-old, who holds a professional record of 25 wins, announced the decision on social media after his contentious stoppage victory over kickboxing great Rico Verhoeven.

In a video posted online, 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’m leaving the belts, but I’m not leaving the sport because I still have my last dance.”

Usyk added: “I want to thank everyone. I have great respect for all organisations. I want to thank everyone and say more to come.” In the caption accompanying the post, he wrote: “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.”

Kabayel deadline loomed

The timing of the announcement is significant. The decision was most likely triggered by the WBC giving Usyk 30 days to accept a mandatory fight against Agit Kabayel, a deadline that was due to expire next Tuesday. By relinquishing the belts, Usyk has removed the immediate pressure of mandatory obligations and left the sanctioning bodies to determine how their titles will be filled.

Usyk had been a heavyweight champion since dethroning Anthony Joshua in 2021 and went on to become undisputed in the division, having already achieved that status at cruiserweight. His decision now opens the heavyweight title picture at a point when several leading contenders are already tied to significant fights or sanctioning-body positions.

The question around Usyk’s final opponent remains unresolved. A rematch with Verhoeven has been discussed after their controversial meeting, with Verhoeven calling for another fight following the eleventh-round stoppage. Usyk’s decision means that any farewell bout can now be pursued without the immediate obstacle of defending multiple belts or satisfying mandatory challengers.

What happens next?

With Oleksandr Usyk vacating three of the four major heavyweight world titles, attention now turns to how each sanctioning body fills the vacancies and crowns its next champion.

The WBC appears to have the clearest immediate route, with interim champion Agit Kabayel expected to be elevated to full world champion. The race to become his mandatory challenger is less straightforward. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are contracted to face each other, while Lawrence Okolie’s status remains uncertain after he returned an adverse analytical finding during the week of his scheduled April bout with Tony Yoka, leading to the fight’s cancellation. That leaves the August clash between Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgović as one of the most significant contests in the division, with the winner potentially earning a direct shot at Agit Kabayel if the WBC designates it as a final eliminator.

The IBF picture is also beginning to take shape. Frank Sanchez earned the mandatory position by defeating Richard Torrez Jr in a final eliminator on the Usyk vs Verhoeven undercard in May. The organisation must now decide who will meet Sanchez for the vacant title. The most straightforward option is to order a fight with the highest-ranked available contender, Bakhodir Jalolov. Alternatively, the IBF could wait to see whether the winner of Itauma versus Hrgović becomes available before ordering the championship bout.

The WBA faces a different decision. Murat Gassiev currently holds the WBA World title while the Super title is vacant, leaving uncertainty over whether he will simply become the recognised top heavyweight champion. Gassiev is scheduled to defend against Tony Yoka in the coming weeks. If he wins, the WBA could order a mandatory defence against its top-ranked contender, Jarrell Miller. Another possibility is delaying that process to see whether the winner of Itauma versus Hrgović can be brought into the title picture.

The WBO remains the only sanctioning body with an established heavyweight champion. Daniel Dubois is expected to defend his title in a rematch against Fabio Wardley before the end of the year, making the WBO title picture far more settled than the other three organisations.

Taken together, the coming months could reshape the heavyweight division more dramatically than at any point in the four-belt era. With multiple titles vacant and several leading contenders set to meet, the outcomes of Itauma vs Hrgović, Gassiev vs Yoka and Fury vs Joshua could determine not only who becomes champion, but also the order in which the division’s next generation of titleholders emerges.