Ukrainian superstar Oleksandr Usyk shocked the boxing world on Friday afternoon when he announced that he would be vacating all of his world heavyweight championships with immediate effect.
The undefeated 39-year-old, who held the WBA 'super', WBC and IBF belts, took to social media to inform fans of his decision. Usyk was most recently seen in the ring last month, when he defeated Dutch kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven in controversial fashion.
Explaining why he had decided to give up his gold, Usyk spoke of his desire to give opportunities to other fighters in the division. He also confirmed that he would have at least one more fight, referring to the next stage of his career as "my last dance".
"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," he stated. "Friends, I'm leaving the belts, but not the sport because I still have my last dance."
The Motivation Behind Usyk's Decision to Ditch His Gold Has Been Explained
While Usyk's intentions may appear noble, Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn, who has promoted several of the legendary fighter's bouts, has shared the 'real reason' behind the decision.
In an interview with Seconds Out in the wake of the announcement, Hearn suggested that Usyk parting company with his gold was motivated by his desire to have more control over his own schedule.
Breaking down the demands on Usyk as a unified champion, Hearn stated:
"When you're the unified champion and you haven't faced one mandatory [challenger], it's a little bit easier to vacate all the belts than to answer the questions. He [Usyk] is probably in a position where he is like: 'I've done so much in the sport, I don't want to be told who I've got to fight! I want to fight when I want to fight!'"
Usyk's surprising announcement comes just days before a deadline by which he needed to agree a deal to fight the WBC's top-ranked contender, Agit Kabayel. As a result, that fight is now almost certain never to happen, with the unbeaten German likely to be promoted to full champion by the governing body shortly.
Oleksandr Usyk Wins His Final Fight 'Comfortably'
Hearn then went on to reveal the fight that he would advise Usyk to take in what will seemingly be his farewell bout.
"If he's gonna rematch Rico [Verhoeven], which if I was managing Usyk, I would be telling him to do, that's his last fight anyway.
"Why would he fight Kabayel and defend the titles? It's a very tough fight. I think financially you can make more money fighting Rico. There's a bit of controversy there. A few unanswered questions.
"I think he wins very comfortably in the second fight. They could do something special in Amsterdam, which would be iconic. He's done, isn't he? This is him saying: 'One more and thank you boxing'."
Usyk has yet to make any announcement regarding who he may face in his final bout, but it's easy to see why settling the score with Rico may appeal to him before he finally calls time on his legendary career.
- Nick Sutherland
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