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Britain's heavyweight contender is set to be promoted to WBO heavyweight champion after the Ukrainian champion opted to give up his world title

This development comes after Ukrainian fighter told boxing authorities he would not engage in a mandatory title defence against Wardley

Official Announcement

The boxing organization confirmed that Usyk had "elected to relinquish his belt after deep reflection"

The Ukrainian maintains the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight titles, having beaten his British opponent at the famous London venue in July to become a double undisputed champion

He originally secured the four-belt undisputed champion in spring 2024 by defeating the British champion, before vacating another belt a month afterwards and choosing to avoid the required opponent

"Organization head the WBO leader praised the Ukrainian fighter in a official release"

"The WBO extends its sincere admiration and thanks to the Ukrainian champion, an perfect record holder across weight classes"

"His career stands as one of the most remarkable and significant of the modern boxing era"

The organization continued that its doors "will always remain open the champion and his camp"

Belt Timeline

Usyk won the world title in recently by overcoming Joshua and went on to defend it four times

In July, the boxing organization mandated talks for a mandatory defence against interim champion Joseph Parker, only for a back injury sustained by Usyk to force the postponement of the fight

New Champion's Path

But the 30-year-old British fighter, captured the temporary championship from his opponent with a major surprise in the later stages at London's O2 Arena in the previous month and was mandated to face Usyk before the September deadline

The championship body still needs to verify Wardley's promotion but his promoter Frank Warren believes it is a done deal

"England has a fresh boxing champion and a emerging fighting personality"

"A truly extraordinary path I've seen in my 45 years as a sports manager and I could not be more pleased for Wardley"

"Significant bouts in the future for 2026 as he defends his WBO belt and builds his reputation in the fighting community"

The champion started fighting at twenty years old, developing through alternative boxing and has had just 21 professional fights

What's Next

• The anticipated title change signals a major shift in the weight class
• Usyk's decision to relinquish the title creates fresh possibilities for additional challengers
• The sport now anticipates verification from the championship body
• The champion's path from alternative background to championship status continues to motivate others