The Ukrainian boxing star Oleksandr Usyk made an announcement on Tuesday that he is officially vacating his IBF world Heavyweight title. This move has opened the way for Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois to potentially compete for the now vacant championship. Alternatively, Dubois would be granted champion status.
Usyk’s present to the British Boxers
Joshua and Dubois were already rumored to face off on September 21 in London in a whole British contest. In his announcement of vacating the title, Usyk addressed the two men and called it his present to them on September 21. Although “The Cat” has vacated the IBF title, he still holds the WBA, WBC and WBO titles. Usyk scored a stunning split decision victory over Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia at Kingdom Arena on May 18 and won the WBC heavyweight title. The Ukrainian and “The Gypsy King” are already set for a rematch on December 21.
Oleksandr was previously granted a waiver by the IBF to retain his title while awaiting a rematch against Tyson Fury. However, he decided to vacate the title beforehand, possibly to avoid a decision by the sanctioning body to strip him of the championship. If Joshua and Dubois fight for the title in September, they can expect to face Usyk in the future. Both have to redeem their losses against him. Dubois suffered a loss at Usyk’s hands in 2023, while Joshua has two defeats against the Ukrainian.
Usyk is set to face Fury in a rematch
Now that Usyk has vacated the IBF title, Tyson Fury has no choice but to fight Joshua or Dubois if he wants to capture the belts. The upcoming rematch between Fury and Usyk will probably bring the British fighter less revenue as he no longer holds a title and the undisputed title is not at stake. Usyk once stated that he had been preparing for this fight for more than 20 years and was also carrying the additional burden of representing Ukraine, which is currently embroiled in a war with Russia.
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Joshua has been in great form and has won his last four bouts. In his most recent fight, AJ knocked out Francis Ngannou. He has been in pursuit of the undisputed title. On the other hand, Daniel Dubois also has the chance to win his first world title. Last year, he lost to Usyk, but since then, he has made a strong comeback by defeating Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic.
