Ukrainian heavyweight boxer, Oleksandr Usyk, announced on Instagram on Tuesday that he is relinquishing the International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight title, which will now be contested in the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois fight on September 21 at London’s Wembley Stadium.
IBF president, Daryl Peoples, confirmed that the heavyweight title is now vacant but denied reports that Dubois had been declared champion, stating no official decision has been made.
The Joshua-Dubois fight will be officially revealed at a press conference on Wednesday and will be the inaugural Riyadh Season event in the UK. The first event outside Saudi Arabia is the August 3 fight between Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles.
Usyk, from Ukraine, defeated Tyson Fury by split decision last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
As a result, when Usyk faces Fury in their December 21 rematch in Riyadh, only three of the four belts will be at stake, the WBC, WBA, and WBO titles. The IBF title will be contested by Joshua and Dubois.
Usyk’s mandatory IBF title defense was overdue, and it was determined before his fight with Fury that the winner must face the mandatory challenger next or be stripped of the title. Given the two-fight agreement in place, Usyk’s decision on Tuesday was anticipated.
Dubois achieved an eighth-round TKO victory over Filip Hrgovic, who was the No. 1 contender, earlier this month in Riyadh to claim the IBF interim title.
In his video on Tuesday, Usyk addressed Anthony and Daniel, acknowledging the importance of the IBF title to them and calling his decision to vacate the belt “my present to you on September 21.”
Usyk, with a record of 22 wins, 0 losses, and 14 knockouts, has already defeated both Joshua and Dubois. He secured back-to-back decision victories over Joshua in 2021 and 2022 before knocking Dubois out in the ninth round of their August meeting.
Joshua, with a record of 28 wins, 3 losses, and 25 knockouts, and Dubois, both from England, will now compete at the over 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium, where Joshua has headlined twice before.
Joshua, 34, is a former two-time heavyweight champion and is ranked No. 3 in the division by ESPN. He is coming off a stunning second-round knockout of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in March.
Dubois has one other career defeat, a 10th-round knockout by Joe Joyce in 2020.
Nancy Mbamalu
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