Britain's Fabio Wardley Poised to Become WBO World Champion as Ukrainian Champion Usyk Relinquishes Title

The UK's heavyweight contender is set to be promoted to world boxing champion after Oleksandr Usyk decided to relinquish his title

This situation arises after the champion told boxing authorities he would not proceed with a required championship defense against Wardley

Official Announcement

The boxing organization confirmed that the champion decided to give up his belt after deep reflection"

The Ukrainian maintains the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight titles, having defeated Daniel Dubois at the famous London venue in July to become a repeat unified title holder

He initially achieved the complete unified champion in May 2024 by beating Tyson Fury, before vacating another belt five weeks later and choosing to avoid the mandatory challenger

"Boxing official Olivieri described Usyk as exceptional in a statement"

"The WBO extends its profound respect, admiration and gratitude to Oleksandr Usyk, an undefeated, two-division WBO undisputed world champion"

"His achievements mark one of the most impressive and memorable of the contemporary boxing period"

The boxing body stated that its doors "will always remain open the champion and his camp"

Championship History

Usyk won the world title in recently by beating the British star and went on to defend it four times

In mid-year, the WBO had ordered negotiations for a required title defense against temporary title holder Parker, only for a champion's back problem to cause the delay of the bout

New Champion's Path

But Wardley, captured the temporary championship from Parker with a major surprise in the 11th round at the capital's venue in the previous month and was ordered to fight the champion before the month's conclusion

The boxing organization hasn't formally announced the title change but his promoter Frank Warren believes it is a done deal

"The UK has a recent title holder and a rising boxing talent"

"A truly extraordinary path I've seen in my 45 years as a sports manager and I could not be prouder of Fabio Wardley"

"Some huge fights ahead for the coming period as he defends his WBO belt and creates a true legacy in the fighting community"

The champion started fighting relatively late, emerging from the amateur circuit and has had a limited professional record

What's Next

• Wardley's expected promotion represents an important development in the division
• The Ukrainian's move to give up the championship opens new opportunities for more fighters
• The fighting community now expects formal announcement from the championship body
• The British fighter's journey from alternative background to title holder continues to motivate others