This week, Oleksandr Usyk announced that he has vacated his WBC, WBA and IBF world titles, while also confirming that he will have one final fight before retiring.
The Ukrainian cemented himself as this generation’s leading heavyweight by beating Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury twice. With his first victory over Fury, Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.
After vacating his WBO belt last year, he has now decided to relinquish his remaining three titles following a WBC order to face mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel. The German has since been upgraded to full champion.
In his statement, Usyk also revealed that his next fight would be the last of his career. While some speculated that it could be a rematch with Rico Verhoeven following the controversial finish to their bout in May, promoter Eddie Hearn believes otherwise.
Speaking on the DAZN broadcast of the Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis card in Brooklyn, Hearn said Deontay Wilder will be the man standing in the opposite corner.
“As I understand it, Usyk will fight Wilder next. He wants to do what he wants to do, I guess, and have one more in the sun, and now the contenders are going to get their shots… If you know you know.”
Usyk and Wilder had been in early talks over a fight back in January, but the hard-hitting American grew impatient and instead booked a bout with Derek Chisora, which he won over the distance.
The former WBC champion faced questions over his future after successive defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang following his trilogy with Tyson Fury. Despite the 43 knockouts on his record, Wilder would enter a fight with Usyk as a sizeable underdog, with many viewing the contest as the Ukrainian’s chance to add one final marquee name from his era before hanging up the gloves.
