Oleksandr Usyk announced he is vacating every heavyweight title he holds, opening up the division he has dominated for years while confirming he still intends to fight once more before he actually retires.
The 39-year-old Ukrainian, unbeaten as a professional at 25-0 with 16 knockouts, made the announcement having recently stepped away from a straightforward crossover assignment against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven. Rather than defend his belts again, he has chosen to hand the division back to its contenders while he plots what he is calling his last fight.
“Not the end of the story”
Photo: IMAGO
“This is a well-considered decision that I am confident will open new opportunities for me. This is not the end of the story,” Usyk said in confirming the move. He was explicit about his reasoning for giving the belts up now rather than making a farewell tour out of them: “I want to vacate all the belts I currently hold. I want to make them available so the guys who are next in line can fight for them.”
He was equally clear that stepping back from title status isn’t the same as stepping away from boxing altogether. “I’m leaving the belts, but I’m not leaving the sport, because I still have my last dance,” he said, leaving the identity of that final opponent unconfirmed for now.
A heavyweight division thrown wide open
Usyk’s decision hands the division its most unsettled title picture in years, with the vacant belts now up for grabs across the various sanctioning bodies rather than concentrated under one undisputed champion. For a division that spent so long defined by Usyk’s dominance, the sudden scramble for his old titles is likely to produce some of the most meaningful fights of the next twelve months, even before his own last dance is confirmed.
A legacy that’s hard to argue with
Whatever happens next, Usyk leaves as one of the finest heavyweights of his generation, unbeaten across a run that included becoming undisputed champion and beating the best available opposition put in front of him. If this really is close to the end, it’s an ending on his own terms, which is more than most heavyweight champions get to say.
