Oleksandr Usyk is no longer carrying heavyweight championship gold.
The now former unified champion announced on social media Friday that he has made the decision to vacate all three of his world titles — WBA, IBF and WBC heavyweight belts.
“It’s a good time to say that I want to vacate all the belts I currently hold,” Usyk said. “I want to make them available so the guys who are next in line can fight for them.”
Usyk, a former undisputed champion in two different weight classes, has had an incredible run at heavyweight following his successful cruiserweight career. Since bumping up to his current class, Usyk holds multiple wins over Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois — knocking out the latter in both victories.
In his most recent bout, Usyk came away with a controversial stoppage win over former GLORY heavyweight champ Rico Verhoeven in May in a matchup that was wildly more competitive than anyone expected it to be.
Along with his announcement to vacate the belts, Usyk also revealed he’s not retiring from the sport of boxing — at least, not yet.
“Friends, I’m leaving the belts, but I’m not leaving the sport because I still have my last dance,” Usyk explained. “I want to thank everyone. I have great respect for all organizations. I want to thank everyone and say there’s more to come. Glory to God for everything. Glory to Ukraine.”
