Oleksandr Usyk relinquishes his heavyweight titles but still planning 'last dance'

Oleksandr Usyk has relinquished his heavyweight titles but is planning one more fight.

The Ukrainian star had previously given up his WBO belt in November and has now surrendered the WBC title as well as the WBA and IBF belts.

It was the WBC title he defended against huge underdog Rico Verhoeven in Egypt, eventually scoring an 11th round stoppage, but he had his hands full throughout the May encounter. After that, he was ordered by the WBC to defend against that body's interim beltholder, Agit Kabayel. He was given a deadline of June 30 to arrange the contest.

The 39-year-old Usyk is 25-0 (16 KOs), and a lock for the Hall of Fame after achieving undisputed status in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. 

His struggle with Verhoeven, a revered kickboxer but only 1-0 in boxing, was widely unexpected. Prior to that he'd taken over the heavyweight division with aplomb, twice beating each of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Daniel Dubois, the current WBO champion.

"Today is Friday, the weather is beautiful and it’s good day to say I want to vacate all the belts I currently hold," Usyk said in a video address on his socials.

"I want to make them available so the guys who are next in line can fight for them. I’m leaving the belts, but I’m not leaving the sport, because I still have my last dance.

"I want to thank everyone. I have great respect for all the organisations. There’s more to come!”

Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC and criticised for allowing Usyk to make a voluntary defense against Verhoeven, responded to Usyk's address with his own message on social media.

"What a disappointment is for me to learn from a social media video that our heavyweight champion is vacating his WBC title," he wrote.

"This is the current life we live in, I would even think it is AI.

"I personally wish Usyk great success in his life inside and outside the ring."