Usyk Vacates His IBF Belt, Fury Left Reeling

Oleksandr Usyk has vacated his IBF Heavyweight Belt ahead of a potential Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois fight.
Usyk became the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion after beating Tyson Fury via a split decision. It was the first time a heavyweight boxer got all the belts since Lennox Lewis in 1999. Usyk will rematch Fury on December 21. However, it is no longer for all the belts, leaving Fury to rue the missed opportunity. Usyk had applied for an exemption from the IBF to allow him to keep all the belts. But since the IBF mandatory had not been called for so long, Usyk has now vacated.
“My understanding is there’s already been an exception. I get both sides of the argument. You really don’t want the belts to be fragmented, but you’ve got a guy [Hrgovic] who has been ordered ages ago and has been waiting and waiting and waiting. So, I understood that the Fury vs Usyk fight took place on the condition that the winner had to fight Hrgovic with no exceptions. I don’t think that will happen for Hrgovic vs Dubois [this weekend] for that to be on the line. But maybe the winner of that has AJ next in line for the IBF. We have to wait and see. But you can’t ignore your mandatory challenger for two or three years,” Hearn said
Usyk Vacates
“Anthony and Daniel, listen – I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you for September 21,” Usyk said
Reports are currently linking a Joshua-Dubois fight for September 21, with an announcement expected soon. Dubois is now the full champion. The news is a massive blow for Fury. While he has won all the belts at heavyweight once he beat Deontay Wilder for the WBC strap, he has never been undisputed. Usyk is undisputed at cruiserweight and heavyweight. Should Fury beat Usyk in the rematch, a victory will not be as big since he cannot claim to be the best of his era without being undisputed.
What’s Next?
This also leaves Fury with no choice but to fight Joshua or Dubois if he has any hopes of winning all the belts. The rematch will likely earn Fury less money since he has no belts, nor is there undisputed on the line. Usyk may also be a lot better with far less pressure. He had to back up his words after stating he was preparing for this fight for 22 years. There was also the added expectation of winning the fight for Ukraine. The country is currently embroiled in a war with Russia, as the win provided a moral boost for the citizens of the country.
The news means that Joshua has a potential chance to become a world champion again. The Brit is in impressive form, having stopped his previous two opponents since working with Ben Davidson. He knocked out Francis Ngannou in his last fight in the second round. Joshua has been chasing undisputed. The closest he came was when he was the former Unified Heavyweight Champion.
However, talks with Deontay Wilder broke down as Joshua would lose his belts to Usyk. Dubois is in good form. He had lost out to Usyk when he was the WBA mandatory, getting stopped in round nine. But since then, he has bounced back strongly. Dubois stopped Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic.
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