{"id":202654,"date":"2026-06-26T17:25:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/26\/usyk-vacates-belts-but-is-not-retiring\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T17:25:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T17:25:49","slug":"usyk-vacates-belts-but-is-not-retiring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/26\/usyk-vacates-belts-but-is-not-retiring\/","title":{"rendered":"Usyk vacates belts but is not retiring"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk says he will vacate all his belts – but is not retiring.<\/b><\/p>\n

The 39-year-old, who has an undefeated professional record of 25 wins, held the WBA ‘super’, WBC and IBF belts.<\/p>\n

“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,” he said on X.<\/p>\n

The Ukrainian said in the build-up to his last fight in May – a gritty win over Rico Verhoeven in Egypt – that he still wanted to fight on two more occasions before considering whether to hang up the gloves.<\/p>\n

In a video message posted on Friday he added: “I want to vacate all the belts that I currently hold to make them available for the guys next in line to fight for them.<\/p>\n

“Friends, I’m leaving the belts but not the sport because I still have my last dance.”<\/p>\n

Two-time undisputed world champion Usyk was pushed to his limits by Verhoeven, who had competed only once in boxing but had a formidable record from kickboxing, eventually finishing the fight late in the 11th round.<\/p>\n

Mandatory challengers are enforced on a rotating basis between sanctioning bodies, and the WBC had ordered Usyk to fight Agit Kabayel next.<\/p>\n

The undefeated German is widely viewed as the most deserving contender yet to receive his opportunity. And with the sanctioning bodies now having a decision to make, he could be elevated to champion.<\/p>\n

A rematch with Verhoeven may now make sense for Usyk.<\/p>\n

Having dominated the cruiserweight division, Usyk made his heavyweight debut in 2019 and went on to defeat both Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury twice.<\/p>\n

Briton Daniel Dubois, who lost to twice to Usyk, holds the WBO belt after defeating Fabio Wardley earlier this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Usyk vacating his belts blows the heavyweight division wide open.<\/p>\n

For so long, everything at the top of the sport has revolved around the Kyiv fighter.<\/p>\n

He has held the belts and contenders have been waiting for their turn. Now, suddenly and unexpectedly, there are openings everywhere.<\/p>\n

WBC ‘interim’ champion Kabayel has been waiting for his shot and is the most deserving of a crack at a world title. Frank Sanchez is ranked number one with the IBF. Murat Gassiev holds the WBA ‘regular’ title. Closer to home, Moses Itauma can see a world-title route beginning to open up in front of him.<\/p>\n

For generational great Usyk, the decision shows that he may be nearing the end.<\/p>\n

By giving up the belts, he is stepping away from mandatories, the politics and the pressure to keep defending against whoever is next in line.<\/p>\n

He says this is not the last dance, but it does give him the freedom to decide what that final act looks like.<\/p>\n

More to follow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk says he will vacate all his belts – but is not retiring. The 39-year-old, who has an undefeated professional record of 25 wins, held the WBA ‘super’, WBC and IBF belts. “This is a well-considered decision that I am confident will open new opportunities for me. This is not the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-202654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nUsyk vacates belts but is not retiring - Tahrir News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/06\/26\/usyk-vacates-belts-but-is-not-retiring\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Usyk vacates belts but is not retiring\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk says he will vacate all his belts – but is not retiring. 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