Heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk has announced that he is vacating his three world title belts but insisted he is not retiring from the sport.
The 39-year-old Ukrainian, who remains unbeaten as a professional, said he was relinquishing the titles to allow other contenders an opportunity to compete for them while he prepares for what he described as his “last dance.”
Usyk made the announcement in a post on social media, a month after surviving a major scare against kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven. The Ukrainian retained his titles after a controversial 11th-round stoppage victory, despite trailing on the judges’ scorecards for much of the fight.
“Today is a good day to say that I want to vacate all the belts that I currently hold, to make them free so that the guys who are in line for them can box,” Usyk said.
“My friends, I’m giving up the belts, but I’m not leaving the sport because I still have my last dance. I want to thank everyone. I respect all the organisations, and there is more to come.”
Usyk is one of boxing’s most accomplished champions, having unified the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions during his career. He boasts a perfect professional record of 25 wins, including 16 by knockout.
Among his most notable victories are two wins each over British heavyweights Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
He claimed the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles by defeating Joshua in September 2021 before becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion after taking the WBC belt from Fury in May 2024.
Usyk later relinquished the IBF title ahead of his rematch with Fury but regained it by defeating Dubois in July 2025. He subsequently vacated the WBO title later that year and has now confirmed he is surrendering his remaining world championship belts while continuing his boxing career.
