Oleksandr Usyk made history when he became the undisputed champion back in May.
His victory over Tyson Fury across 12 hard-fought rounds made him only the second man to be undisputed at both cruiserweight and then go on to do the same thing up at heavyweight, with Evander Holyfield the only other fighter to do it.
He is also in rare company amongst men who have been undisputed in more than one division in the four belt era – with only Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford also achieving that feat.
However, in order to honour the contracted rematch with Fury, which takes place in December in Saudi Arabia, Usyk was forced to vacate his IBF belt instead of facing his mandatory from that organisation.
Usyk has finally given his reaction to having to relinquish one of his belts, asked in an interview with New Voice if it was fair on the Brit, who will now not get the immediate chance to become undisputed.
“There is no honest or dishonest answer here. Everything here is professional. We could fight and keep this belt, but I still had to protect it against Dubois or Anthony Joshua, I don’t remember who was next. We play the way it should be.”
It means whoever wins in December will hope to go into a bout with the winner of Anthony Joshua versus Daniel Dubois, who fight for the IBF belt this weekend, to once again unify all four major titles as well as the lineal and Ring Magazine honours.
