What To Know
- Unified heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine announced via social media on Friday he would fight one more time, though he stopped short of saying he would retire.
- With his announcement, Usyk officially dropped his three championship belts.
- Usyk stated he dropped the belts in the hope that Anthony Joshua would now have an opportunity to fight for them and unify the division.
Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine (25-0, 16 KOs) managed to rally at the end of the 11th round, stopping Verhoeven of the Netherlands (2-1, 1 KOs) to avoid disaster, defending his WBC World Heavyweight belt along with the Ring Magazine belt in a ring set up in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt.
Usyk issued this message: “Attention. Important update. I am vacating my unified WBA, IBF and WBC heavyweight world titles ahead of stepping into the ring for my final fight.”
Usyk also posted a video message, stating it is a “well-considered decision,” and “this is not the end of the story.”
Це свідоме рішення, яке, я впевнений, відкриє для мене нові можливості. Це не кінець історії. Продовження попереду.
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This is a well-considered decision that I am confident will open new opportunities for me. This is not the end of the story. The continuation lies ahead. pic.twitter.com/tPRRWMsmbh
— Oleksandr Usyk (@usykaa) June 26, 2026
Usyk also said he vacated the titles “to give Anthony Joshua the opportunity to compete for and reunify them.” Joshua and Usyk have developed a close relationship, training together after Joshua’s December auto accident in Nigeria.
Usyk’s sports director, Sergey Lapin, issued a statement about Usyk’s plans, saying his last fight might take place in the United States.
“As Usyk’s sporting director, I can say that this decision was made with the future of the heavyweight division in mind,” Lapin said. “Oleksandr vacated the sanctioning body titles to give Anthony Joshua the opportunity to compete for and reunify them.
“As for Oleksandr, his goal has always been to finish his legendary career with his final fights in the United States, where he wants to leave the last chapter of his boxing legacy.”
Usyk, age 39, remains the lineal heavyweight champion. As such, he would retain the Ring Magazine title. Ring Magazine editor Doug Fischer confirmed that Usyk would be allowed to keep the Ring Magazine title.
Usyk had already vacated the WBO title to avoid a mandatory challenge by Fabio Wardley. Wardley was elevated to become the full champion, but lost the belt in his first defense to Daniel Dubois.
Fight With Verhoeven May Have Prompted Decision by Usyk
Usyk defended his WBC and WBA titles in a fight observers expected to be a cakewalk against former world champion kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in Giza, Egypt in May. Instead, Verhoeven made good on his promise to deliver a serious challenge, winning the fight on the scorecards before Usyk rallied in the 11th round to score a knockout win.
After the fight, Usyk’s mandatory WBC challenger Agit Kabayel of Germany was teed up for a faceoff in the ring. There were some awkward moments with Kabayel given the unexpected lackluster performance by Usyk, considered one of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers.
The World Boxing Council had sanctioned the Verhoeven fight with the understanding that Usyk would face Kabayel next. A purse bid for the fight was scheduled for next Tuesday, June 30. Now, that obligation is set aside. WBC president Mauricio Sulieman expressed his unhappiness with Usyk’s decision. But there is nothing he can do about it other than to move on.
Who Will Oleksandr Usyk Face In His Final Fight?
Now the speculation is on as to Usyk’s plans. Who will he choose to fight in what might be his last appearance in a boxing ring?
There are two obvious candidates.
First, Usyk has long discussed his interest in facing former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Wilder has recently returned to action. He won a hard-fought, all-action decision over Derek Chisora on April 4.
With no mandatories in the way, and with the Ring Magazine belt and lineal heavyweight throne in play, it’s an appealing fight for Wilder, who is not ranked highly enough to be a mandatory challenger by the individual sanctioning organizations (although we should not speak too soon given Verhoeven was sanctioned at the last minute).
If Usyk still wants to fight in the U.S., facing Wilder would fit the bill and be a big seller in multiple markets.
The other obvious choice is a rematch with Verhoeven. There is no question Verhoeven would take the fight.
After his narrow loss to Usyk, Verhoeven went on an impromptu media tour, conducting several dozen interviews. The skepticism he had faced before his fight with Usyk had turned into admiration and congratulations for his performance. Verhoeven confirmed that he intended to continue pursuing professional boxing and that he would take a rematch with Usyk in a heartbeat.
Critics who were angry that Usyk was “wasting” a fight on Verhoeven weren’t looking so good all of a sudden. Fans who had blown off the matchup as a Misfits-type stunt changed their minds after Verhoeven proved them wrong.
Verhoeven’s team lodged an official protest with the British Boxing Board of Control, which had sanctioned the fight over what they felt was a faulty stoppage after the bell in the 11th round. It was dismissed.
Wilder or Verhoeven for Usyk?
Which of the two do we see for Usyk? Without a doubt, Deontay Wilder will be the choice. Despite the power punching right hand Wilder still possesses, he is far less dangerous to Usyk than Verhoeven. Wilder is one of the few heavyweight champions of the current generation that Usyk hasn’t faced. He has already taken on and defeated Joshua, Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois, Derek Chisora, and he defeated all of the cruiserweight champions before them.
Who Gets Their Shot at the Heavyweight Belts?
Meanwhile, the three sanctioning organizations with vacant belts will need to get busy and schedule fights for the contenders in the current generation.
Agit Kabayel may be elevated to full champion by the WBC or ordered to face the next available ranked contender for the vacant title. We bet on the latter.
The WBA “regular” champion is Murat Gassiev of Russia. He is scheduled to defend that belt against Tony Yoka of France on July 11 in Moscow. This could be elevated to a fight for the vacant full (“super”) title. Easy peasy for the WBA, and it’s a plus to remove one of the wacky “regular” belts from circulation.
Over to the IBF where Frank Sanchez became Usyk’s mandatory challenger with his stunning knockout win over Richard Torrez Jr. on the Usyk vs Verhoeven undercard.
There is no one in the immediate rankings after Sanchez. A likely opponent would be the winner of the August 29 fight confirmed earlier this week between third-ranked challenger Moses Itauma of England and Filip Hrgovic of Croatia.
While it’s always sad to see a great champion coming to the end of a career, there is a lot to celebrate seeing deserving contenders finally getting their opportunity to prove themselves against the top talent of their generation.
In particular, Itauma has already been pegged as the future of the heavyweight division at age 23. He’ll get his chance to prove it sooner than expected, starting with Hrgovic.
Whatever Usyk decides, even if he decides to retire, he is a sure lock for the International Boxing Hall of Fame on the ballot three years from now. He is retiring with an undefeated record and as an exemplary human being with a generous spirit and unassailable personal character rooted in his Christian faith and his deep love of his country. Slava Ukraini!
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.