OLEKSANDR USYK HAS officially LEAVED the IBF heavyweight title.
The undefeated Ukrainian has held the belt since dethroning Anthony Joshua in September 2021.
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He retained the prestigious red belt last month with his split decision victory over Tyson Fury in his undisputed Saudi straightening.
The IBF has revealed plans to strip the winner of the Riyadh rumble of his belt ahead of the historic desert contest.
That’s because the previous mandatory challenger, Filip Hrgovic, had been waiting for his title shot for almost two years.
But just over a month after his victory over Fury, which cemented his legacy, Usyk chose to give up the belt.
And vacating the title paved the way for AJ and fellow Brit Daniel Dubois to challenge for the title at Wembley in 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 gift to you on September 21st.”
Your caption that accompanies X and Instagram the caption read: “Hey @anthonyjoshua, @DynamiteDubois.
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“The IBF Belt is my gift to you on 21.09.2024
“The world loves the 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 has returned to world title contention with four consecutive victories, the most recent of which was a brutal second-round knockout of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
Dubois, meanwhile, punched his ticket to a second chance at heavyweight glory earlier this month with a surprising stoppage of the previously undefeated Hrgovic.
Triple D – who lost his first world title fight against Usyk last August – stopped the Croatian clubber in the eighth round of their clash in Riyadh.
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And he plans to do the same with Joshua, saying of the domestic showdown: “It’s a dream.
“Especially after having to recover from defeats and fight for the world title.
“Now I have a chance to win the damn thing and that’s what I want.
“I’m going to demolish AJ, I can only get better from here.”
SunSport understands that Joshua and Dubois will fight at Wembley on September 21.
The domestic dispute is expected to be announced on Wednesday afternoon.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
