A heavyweight veteran has taken issue with the timing of Oleksandr Usyk\u2019s decision to relinquish his titles, given that he could have fought for a vacant strap earlier this year.<\/p>\n
While maintaining his status as the lineal heavyweight champion, Usyk chose to vacate his WBC, IBF and WBA belts<\/a> towards the end of last month.<\/p>\n In doing so, the Ukrainian enabled Agit Kabayel and Murat Gassiev to respectively be upgraded to full WBC and WBA champions, while his old IBF title remains up for grabs.<\/p>\n But while allowing others to progress in the sport, Usyk has afforded himself just one more fight before calling time on a phenomenal career.<\/p>\n This news follows his 11th-round stoppage over Rico Verhoeven in May, when the two-division undisputed champion encountered a tougher-than-expected night\u2019s work.<\/p>\n And with Usyk subsequently announcing that he has one fight left, many felt this decision was inspired by his difficulty in dispatching a former kickboxing champion.<\/p>\n Either way, the 39-year-old\u2019s deliberation meant that Derek Chisora<\/a> was unable to fight for a vacant IBF title when he faced Deontay Wilder<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n According to Usyk, Chisora gave him the toughest fight of his career when they went the distance in 2020<\/a>. \u2018Del Boy\u2019 ultimately lost via a hard-fought unanimous decision, with the judges\u2019 scorecards reflecting a closely contested bout.<\/p>\n