Oleksandr Usyk has vacated his IBF title.
This is coming just five weeks after becoming the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in nearly 25 years,
Usyk defeated Tyson Fury on a split decision on 18 May to add the WBC title to his WBA, WBO and IBF collection.
However, the Ukrainian has vacated his IBF belt, which may now be available for the winner of the anticipated bout between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
Dubois, the IBF’s mandatory challenger, is expected to face fellow Briton Joshua at Wembley Stadium on September 21.
“Anthony and Daniel, I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on 21 September,” Usyk said in a video message posted on X.
Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk had asked the IBF to keep his belt intact so that the undisputed title would be at stake in his rematch with Tyson Fury on December 21.
However, the IBF had to strip Usyk of the title according to its rules, as he did not face their mandatory challenger next.
The last undisputed heavyweight champion before Usyk was Britain’s Lennox Lewis in 1999, during the three-belt era, before the WBO title was officially recognized in 2007.
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