By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Oleksandr Usyk will no longer be the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion after revealing he is vacating his IBF title.
Usyk beat Tyson Fury on a split decision on 18 May to add the WBC title to his WBA, WBO and IBF collection.
However the Ukrainian says he has vacated his IBF belt, which could now be up for grabs for the winner of the anticipated bout between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
Dubois is the IBF’s mandatory challenger and is expected to fight fellow Briton Joshua at Wembley Stadium on 21 September.
“Anthony and Daniel, I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on 21 September,” Usyk said in a video message posted on X.
Ukrainian Usyk had requested his IBF belt not be stripped so the undisputed title can remain on the line when he fights Fury in their rematch on 21 December.
But the IBF, according to its rules, had to strip Usyk if he did not fight their mandatory challenger next.
Britain’s Lennox Lewis was the last undisputed heavyweight champion prior to Usyk in 1999, though that was in the three-belt era before the WBO title was officially recognised in 2007.
Usyk has already huge wins over both Joshua and Dubois. The Ukrainian won his world titles with a masterful performance against Joshua in September 2021, defending the belts in style a year later.