Oleksandr Usyk Vacates Three Heavyweight Titles, Creating Vacancies for Other Boxers

Oleksandr Usyk announced Friday that he is vacating the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight belts. The 39-year-old Ukrainian, who remains unbeaten in his professional career, said he wanted to free the titles for other boxers in line to challenge for them.

"Today is Friday, the weather is good, and it’s 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 stated in a social media post.

Usyk’s announcement came one month after he defeated kickboxer Rico Verhoeven by 11th-round stoppage near the Great Pyramid of Giza. Verhoeven had led on the scorecards before the stoppage in only his second boxing bout. Usyk holds a 25-0 record with 16 knockouts.

He first won the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight belts by defeating Anthony Joshua in September 2021 and added the WBC belt against Tyson Fury in May 2024. He later regained the IBF title from Daniel Dubois in July 2025 before vacating the WBO belt months afterward. Dubois won that belt by defeating Fabio Wardley in May 2026.

Usyk had previously become undisputed cruiserweight champion, claiming the WBO title in 2016, the WBC strap in 2018 and the WBA and IBF belts later that year.