‘Oleksandr Usyk relinquishes his three heavyweight world titles (WBA, WBC and IBF). The unified champion announced it on his social media: “The weather is magnificent and it is a good day to say that I want to vacate all the belts I currently hold. I want to make them available for the fighters who want them and who are next in line to fight for them.”.
Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) was quick to say that this decision was not linked to a possible retirement. “Friends, I’m leaving the belts but not the sport, because I still have my last dance left,” said the Ukrainian boxer. His last fight took place a month ago when he knocked out the former king of kickboxing’s premier division, Rico Verhoeven, with one second remaining in the eleventh round. The unusual bout was held in front of the pyramids of Giza for the World Boxing Council (WBC) title. The referee’s decision to stop the fight shortly before the bell rang was heavily criticized. The round could have ended and Rico could have had recovery time in the corner.’
Everything indicated that Usyk’s next fight would be a title defense against challenger Agit Kabayel. “As Usyk’s sporting director, I can say that this decision was made with the future of the heavyweight division in mind. Oleksandr gave up the titles to give Anthony Joshua the opportunity to fight for them and unify them,” said Sergey Lapin, Usyk’s sporting director, to ESPN.
Lapin did not want to give many details about what that last dance announced by his protégé would be like: “His goal has always been to close out his legendary career by fighting his last bouts in the United States, where he wants to write the final chapter of his boxing legacy”.
Read the full article here
