Oleksandr Usyk has relinquished his WBC, WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine world heavyweight titles but dismisses retirement, Yankee Scores reports.
Attention‼️Important update
⁰I am vacating my unified WBA, IBF and WBC heavyweight world titles ahead of stepping into the ring for my final fight.— Oleksandr Usyk (@usykaa) June 26, 2026
Usyk is coming off a controversial stoppage win against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven and has decided to relinquish the three sanctioning body belts in a move that has thrown the heavyweight division wide open, according to Skysports.
But the Ukrainian will not be hanging up his gloves yet as he revealed he will fight one last time before retiring from the sport.
“It’s a good day to say that I want to vacate all the belts that I currently hold,” Usyk, who is 25-0 in his professional career, said in a video shared on social media. I want to get them out there so the guys coming up behind me can fight for them.”
“I’m leaving the belts but I’m not leaving the sport because I still have my last dance.”
He added: “I want to thank everyone. I have great respect for all organisations. I want to thank everyone and say more to come.”
In a social media post, the Ukrainian 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.”
Usyk, one of the all-time great heavyweights, has been the division’s champion since dethroning Anthony Joshua in 2021.
He is a former undisputed cruiserweight world champion and a two-time undisputed heavyweight world champion.
