What Oleksandr Usyk's decision to vacate his world titles means for the rest of boxing's heavyweight division

Oleksandr Usyk has vacated his WBC, IBF and WBA titles in the pursuit of one last dance, with several heavyweights benefiting from the splintering of his unified championship.

Even without his belts, the Ukrainian is still considered the lineal champion, having claimed two respective victories over Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.

As Usyk inches closer towards retirement, though, there is now an opportunity for the division’s leading fighters to jostle for his soon-to-be-vacant No.1 position.

Already, WBO champion Dubois has made a compelling case for himself, given his stunning 11th-round triumph over Fabio Wardley in May.

But there are, of course, several other heavyweights who would fiercely reject his claim to the throne, especially now that two additional champions have been crowned.

Agit Kabayel becomes WBC champion

Part of Usyk’s decision to relinquish his belts can surely be explained by a looming mandatory title defence against Agit Kabayel, who has since been upgraded from ‘interim’ to full WBC champion.

The German claimed his ‘interim’ title with a sixth-round onslaught against Zhilei Zhang, which only enhanced his reputation as one of the division’s most ferocious body punchers.

This performance came in February 2025 and, since then, Kabayel has repeatedly called for a shot at Usyk, who now seems likely to either rematch Rico Verhoeven or enter an all-veteran clash with former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

In any case, Kabayel no longer needs to pile pressure on the 39-year-old but instead focus on making a first defence of his title.

This could come against any of the top 15 contenders, including Lawrence Okolie, who failed a doping test in April but is now attempting to clear his name.

If his efforts prove successful then ‘The Sauce’ could be restored as the WBC’s leading challenger.

Murat Gassiev becomes WBA champion

While Murat Gassiev is perhaps best known for his exploits at cruiserweight, where he unified the IBF and WBA titles before losing to Usyk, the Russian can now finally call himself a two-division world champion.

This status was somewhat manufactured during his reign as the WBA ‘regular’ titlist, but now there is no denying his position as a heavyweight champion.

In order to retain his belt, the 32-year-old must defeat Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka, who has suddenly been presented with a greater incentive to emerge victorious on July 11.

The pair will collide in Moscow, and despite Gassiev boasting a home advantage, their encounter should be considered a genuine 50/50 clash.

While Gassiev possesses considerable knockout power, Yoka arguably has the technical capabilities to befuddle him for 12 rounds.

Frank Sanchez to fight for IBF title

As the sanctioning body’s mandatory challenger, Frank Sanchez is guaranteed a shot at the vacant IBF title.

‘The Cuban Flash’ earned his position with a second-round finish over Richard Torrez Jr, who seems a promising talent but was ultimately flattened by a crushing right hand when they collided in May.

This was not the first time Sanchez shifted the trajectory of a rising contender, as many will recall the 10-round boxing lesson he dished out against Efe Ajagba in 2021.

With his only defeat coming against Kabayel in May 2024, the 33-year-old is once again considered something of a bogeyman as he bids to become a world champion.

Ranked just below him are Moses Itauma, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, but with these three committing to non-title fights, Sanchez is likely to face No.6 ranked contender Bakhodir Jalolov.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist has hardly proven himself as a pro, yet it nonetheless seems he is closing in on an IBF title shot.