Undefeated world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is set to relinquish his IBF title. The Ukrainian is the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era since Lennox Lewis[three belts] in 2000 and has an impressive [225-15] record.
Usyk is a formidable fighter and undefeated champion currently holding the WBA, WBC, and WBO belts. He gained the WBC belt after battling Tyson Fury in May by dominating him with a split-decision win. Per their contract, the fighters are set to face off again in December, but Usyk was unsure about the sanctioning body granting an exemption, so he gave up the title instead.
This new turn of events leaves the IBF heavyweight title vacant and up for grabs for Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois. The two fighters are set to battle at Wembley Stadium in September, although the matchup hasn’t been confirmed yet. Usyk confirmed his intentions to give up the title through social media by posting a video on X saying, “Anthony and Daniel, listen. I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on September 21.”
Although it may seem like Usyk is glad to give up the title, that is quite the opposite. On the contrary, Usyk has been in a clash with IBF for a while as they set up a mandatory title defense against Filip Hrgovic, but the fight never happened. Instead, Usyk went up against Fury while Hargovic fought and lost to Dubois.
Despite the future match between Usyk and Fury not being a title ship bout, fans are still expectant. The two fighters are formidable in the ring, and whoever emerges victorious in the Joshua vs. Dubois fight, faces off against one of these fighters. However, a match against Usyk might be anti-climatic as he has faced both Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois in previous fights and defeated them. Usyk faced 26-year-old Dubois once and had a controversial win in the ninth round against him and he had also defeated Joshua twice in two separate matches.
