Oleksandr Usyk vacates heavyweight belts for retirement fight

Oleksandr Usyk will give up his unified heavyweight titles to chase one last fight before hanging up the gloves.

The undefeated Ukrainian champion announced Friday that he is vacating his WBA, WBC and IBF belts, according to Sherdog. Usyk, who turns 40 in January, said he wants the next contenders in line to compete for the straps while he books a final bout. He did not name a potential opponent or confirm whether his sendoff would carry any championship hardware.

Usyk's heavyweight run built on repeat business

"Friends, good afternoon, everyone," Usyk said in a video posted to social media. "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. Friends, I'm leaving the belts, but I'm not leaving the sport, because I still have my last dance."

The 25-0 heavyweight captured his first major strap by stopping Derek Chisora for the WBO intercontinental title in 2020, then dethroned Anthony Joshua a year later to claim the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts. Six of his last seven fights have been rematches — two with Joshua, two with Tyson Fury, and two with Daniel Dubois — all of which Usyk won, though some decisions came down to narrow scorecards.

His most recent outing in May saw him face kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven in a crossover bout that ended controversially when the referee stopped the fight after a late knockdown. No date has been set for Usyk's retirement match.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Oleksandr Usyk to vacate all belts, seeks ‘one last dance’ retirement match