Oleksandr Usyk has relinquished his WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championship titles as he moves toward retirement. Usyk intends to compete one final time before bringing his professional career to a close.
Oleksandr Usyk has vacated the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships, with the undefeated Ukrainian legend announcing plans for one final bout before retiring from professional boxing.
Usyk, 39, leaves those three major titles behind with a flawless professional record of 24 wins and zero losses. Standing six-foot-three with a 78-inch reach, the southpaw from Ukraine has been one of the most technically complete heavyweights of his era. Fighting out of the Ready To Fight camp, "The Cat" built his unbeaten ledger across two weight classes, having previously unified the cruiserweight division before ascending to heavyweight and collecting the sport's most prestigious belts.
Why it matters
- Vacating three major heavyweight titles simultaneously creates a significant power vacuum at the top of the division, with multiple sanctioning bodies now needing to determine their new champions.
- Usyk's planned farewell fight carries enormous commercial weight given his undefeated status and his standing as one of the most accomplished heavyweights in recent history.
- His exit reshapes the entire landscape of heavyweight boxing, opening pathways for contenders who had been frozen out of title opportunities while he held multiple straps.
The decision to relinquish the belts rather than defend them suggests Usyk and his team are pursuing a specific opponent or scenario for his retirement fight on their own terms, though no opponent or timeline has been confirmed alongside the announcement. At 39 and with nothing left to prove on paper, the Ukrainian exits the championship picture having never tasted defeat across a 24-fight career.
