OLEKSANDR USYK has officially VACATED the IBF heavyweight title.
The undefeated Ukrainian has held the belt since his dethroning of Anthony Joshua in September 2021.
AFPOleksandr Usyk has officially vacated the IBF heavyweight title[/caption]
REUTERSThe undefeated Ukrainian ripped the belt from Anthony Joshua’s clutches in September 2021[/caption]
Usyk announced his relinquishing of the belt on social media
He retained the prestigious red strap last month with his split-decision victory over Tyson Fury in their undisputed Saudi straightener.
The IBF revealed plans to strip the winner of the Riyadh rumble of the belt prior to the historic desert dust-up.
That’s because previous mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic had been waiting for his crack at the belt for the best part of two years.
But a little over a month after his legacy-cementing win over Fury, Usyk has opted to relinquish the belt.
And his vacating of the title has paved the way for AJ and his fellow Brit Daniel Dubois to vie for it at Wembley this September.
In a video on social media, Usyk said: “Anthony and Daniel, listen, I know the IBF title is important to you.
“It’s my present to you on September 21.”
His accompanying caption on X and Instagram caption read: “Hey @anthonyjoshua, @DynamiteDubois.
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“The IBF Belt is my present for you for 21.09.2024
“The world loves strong.
“Your friend, Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, Oleksandr Usyk.”
Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua, 35, suffered back-to-back losses to former pound-for-pound king Usyk.
But he’s got himself back into world title contention with four wins on the bounce, the most recent of which was a brutal second-round KO of former UFC champ Francis Ngannou.
Dubois, meanwhile, punched his ticket to a second crack at heavyweight glory earlier this month with a shock stoppage of the previously undefeated Hrgovic.
Triple D – who came up short in his first world title fight against Usyk last August – stopped the Croatian clubber in the eighth round of their Riyadh rumble.
GETTYOleksandr Usyk became undisputed heavyweight champion with a split-decision win over Tyson Fury last month[/caption]
APHis reign as the first undisputed heavyweight champ in nearly 25 years has lasted 38 days[/caption]
And he plans to do the same to Joshua, saying of their domestic clash: “It’s a dream.
“Especially after having to come back from defeats and challenging for a world title.
“I now have a chance to win the damn thing outright and that’s what I want.
“I will demolish AJ, from here I can only get even better.”
SunSport understands Joshua and Dubois are set to duke it out at Wembley on September 21.
The domestic dust-up is expected to be announced on Wednesday afternoon.