Oleksandr Usyk Makes Final Decision On Whether He Will Defend Or Relinquish His WBO Title

Oleksandr Usyk Makes Final Decision On Whether He Will Defend Or Relinquish His WBO Title
Image credit: Matchroom
Kailem Lowe

Oleksandr Usyk has made a final decision on whether he will be defending his WBO heavyweight title against mandatory challenger Fabio Wardley next.

The 38-year-old Ukrainian superstar has had an exceptional campaign at heavyweight, becoming the first fighter of the ‘four belt era’ to win the undisputed championship on two separate occasions.

Usyk cemented himself as arguably the best heavyweight of his entire generation in July when he stopped Britain’s Daniel Dubois in the 5th round of their historic showdown at Wembley Stadium.

It had been suggested that the Ukrainian great could return to the ring to defend his undisputed championship against Fabio Wardley, who became the WBO mandatory challenger when he defeated Joseph Parker last month.

As revealed by the World Boxing Organization on Monday evening, Usyk has actually decided to relinquish his world title to bring an end to his reign as the undisputed heavyweight champion.

“The World Boxing Organization (WBO) announced today that it has received formal communication from Team Oleksandr Usyk regarding the future of the WBO Heavyweight Championship. After thoughtful consideration, Usyk has elected to relinquish the title.”

This decision means that Wardley has been elevated to full WBO world champion, which was confirmed by the Brit’s promoter Frank Warren shortly after the WBO statement was released.

It has been quite the journey for Ipswich’s Wardley, who made his professional debut back in 2017 without having a single amateur contest. The 30-year-old had just a handful of white collar bouts before entering the paid ranks, where he has defeated the likes of Justis Huni, David Adeleye and Joseph Parker last time out.

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