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Oleksandr Usyk wants to go out with a bang.
Turning 40 years of age in January, unified heavyweight boxing champion Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) has decided to relinquish his WBA, WBC and IBF belts. The Ukrainian wishes for those next in line to vie for his old belts, while he has his sights set on one final bout. He has not tipped his hat as to whether it would be a rematch against a former foe like Rico Verhoeven or Tyson Fury, or even if there would be any gold on the line for his final bout.
Usyk took the boxing world by storm, crushing names like Tony Bellew and Chazz Witherspoon as a cruiserweight before moving up to the heaviest division. There, he picked up the WBO intercontinental strap from Derek Chisora in 2020, and looked nowhere but up. A year later, the 18-0 big man challenged Anthony Joshua for the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, and he claimed them all by picking up a decision after 12 rounds of combat.
The newly minted unified heavyweight champion achieved this feat by winning the rematch with Joshua to score the vacant The Ring magazine belt. Most of the last boxing matches in the career of the 6-foot-3 striker have been rematches, as he faced Joshua twice, Fury twice and Daniel Dubois twice in his last seven outings. He has won them all, although earned more than one close nod to break ties with judges.
In May, Usyk departed from the traditional list of contenders and mandatory defenses to throw down with “The King of Kickboxing” Rico Verhoeven. The one-bout boxing vet acquitted himself extremely well in the match, winning most of the rounds on many observers’ scorecards. Usyk ultimately was granted an early knockdown of Verhoeven late in their match that allowed the Dutchman to recover more than standard. He also had the fight stopped early in his favor due to questionable refereeing, with the intervention coming after the bell rang in the midst of a not-overly-destructive combination.
“Friends, good afternoon, everyone,” Usyk said on a video posted Friday to his social media. “Today is Friday the weather is beautiful and it’s a good day to say that 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. I want to thank everyone, I have great respect for all organizations…there’s more to come! Glory to God, and glory to Ukraine!”
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Turning 40 years of age in January, unified heavyweight boxing champion Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) has decided to relinquish his WBA, WBC and IBF belts. The Ukrainian wishes for those next in line to vie for his old belts, while he has his sights set on one final bout. He has not tipped his hat as to whether it would be a rematch against a former foe like Rico Verhoeven or Tyson Fury, or even if there would be any gold on the line for his final bout.
Usyk took the boxing world by storm, crushing names like Tony Bellew and Chazz Witherspoon as a cruiserweight before moving up to the heaviest division. There, he picked up the WBO intercontinental strap from Derek Chisora in 2020, and looked nowhere but up. A year later, the 18-0 big man challenged Anthony Joshua for the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, and he claimed them all by picking up a decision after 12 rounds of combat.
Rematches upon rematches upon rematches
The newly minted unified heavyweight champion achieved this feat by winning the rematch with Joshua to score the vacant The Ring magazine belt. Most of the last boxing matches in the career of the 6-foot-3 striker have been rematches, as he faced Joshua twice, Fury twice and Daniel Dubois twice in his last seven outings. He has won them all, although earned more than one close nod to break ties with judges.
In May, Usyk departed from the traditional list of contenders and mandatory defenses to throw down with “The King of Kickboxing” Rico Verhoeven. The one-bout boxing vet acquitted himself extremely well in the match, winning most of the rounds on many observers’ scorecards. Usyk ultimately was granted an early knockdown of Verhoeven late in their match that allowed the Dutchman to recover more than standard. He also had the fight stopped early in his favor due to questionable refereeing, with the intervention coming after the bell rang in the midst of a not-overly-destructive combination.
“Friends, good afternoon, everyone,” Usyk said on a video posted Friday to his social media. “Today is Friday the weather is beautiful and it’s a good day to say that 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. I want to thank everyone, I have great respect for all organizations…there’s more to come! Glory to God, and glory to Ukraine!”
Continue reading...
