Usyk stunned fans after he relinquished one of his heavyweight titles yet, but the Ukrainian does not appear to be done with undisputed glory yet
Oleksandr Usyk has hinted he may not be done with undisputed glory just yet after sending a message to boxing fans.
Last month, the Ukrainian left boxing fans scratching their heads after he decided to give up one of his glittering titles – with British star Fabio Wardley eventually being promoted to world champion. It came after Wardley stopped Joseph Parker in the 11th round in London back in October to become the interim WBO champion.
Usyk had been ordered to defend his four belts against the Ipswich native, before giving up his title. The 38-year-old has not fought since knocking out Daniel Dubois back in July in front of over 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. The two-division undisputed champion is expected to take some time off before returning to the ring next year.
While fans were disappointed with Usyk snubbing Wardley, it looks as if the heavyweight king is open to fighting the Brit in the near future. Speaking at the recent WBC convention over in Thailand, the Ukrainian boxing veteran provided a rather cryptic update, teasing that he is targeting a third shot at heavyweight supremacy.
The 38-year-old was joined on stage by fellow icons Roberto Duran and Katie Taylor, before revealing to those in attendance: “Listen, I have four belts, now three. People say, ‘Hey, you’re not undisputed champion.’ Okay, that is temporary.”
According to Wardley’s manager, Michael Ofo, the two teams had an ‘agreement in principle’ before the Ukrainian decided to ‘back out.’ Speaking to talkSPORT, Ofo revealed: “Before the fight, Usyk’s team put an offer out there. “I won’t go into too much detail, but we agreed to everything in principle. I don’t believe Parker’s team did. All of the terms they wanted, we agreed to them, and then they backed out… To be honest, I thought that Usyk was going to take the fight. I thought he was the type of champion who doesn’t duck challenges.”
Wardley himself was left taken aback by Usyk’s decision. “I don’t necessarily know if I can (understand),” he told Sky Sports. “I don’t know what he may be planning for himself, whether that be retirement, whether it be a different fight, whether it be another alternative.
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“Obviously, we’re seeing loads of variations with fighters and what they’re doing with their careers at the moment, whether they’re pivoting into different sports, or taking breaks and then coming back. It was a bit of a strange one, because initially he took a bit of a break. He was allowed an absence, an extension on the belt, and then to give it up just seems a bit of a strange move. I’m not too sure what he was thinking.”
But according to the Ukrainian’s team, Usyk relinquished the belt to allow the new generation to fight for it. Camp manager Sergey Lapin told Pro Boxing Fans: “Oleksandr vacated the belt to give young boxers a chance to fight for it. Let’s see how everything develops from here. Fabio Wardley vs. Moses Itauma would be a wonderful fight for both, and it would be very interesting to see who comes out on top.”
