Usyk gave up the IBF heavyweight belt
Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk announced his decision to leave the IBF belt vacant, thereby renouncing the title of absolute world champion in super heavyweight.
That’s what he’s about reported in a video message on Instagram, calling the belt a “gift” for Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, who are scheduled to meet in the ring on September 21.
“The IBF belt is my gift to you on 09/21/2024. The world loves the strong. Your friend, the absolute champion of the world in super heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk”, the post says.
After this decision, Usyk will remain the owner of three titles – WBC, WBA and WBO.
It will be recalled that on May 18, he won a historic victory over Tyson Fury, unifying all four major titles.
Now the rematch between Usyk and Fury, scheduled for December 21 in Saudi Arabia, will not determine the absolute champion. Instead, the winner of the Joshua-DuBois fight is expected to meet the winner of the Usyk-Fury rematch in the spring of 2025 to unify all the titles again and determine the absolute champion.
We will remind that earlier the promoter of the Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Krasyuk stated that Oleksandr Usyk is not going to end his professional career and never once spoke about his desire to hang up his gloves.