Usyk Vacates IBF Title, Paving The Way For Joshua Vs. Dubois Showdown

Undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has posted on social media, revealing that he’s vacating his IBF title so that Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois can battle for it on September 21st when they meet at Wembley Stadium in London.

A Gift for the Challengers

The need for the vacant IBF title to be at stake was what was holding back Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, from pulling the trigger on the dangerous fight against the young upstart, 26-years-old Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs).

Now that the belt is available, there’s no excuse for them not to take the fight unless they’ve chosen to take a safer match-up so they don’t mess up a potential Tyson Fury contest.

It’s a dangerous fight for the 34-year-old Joshua against Dubois because the younger fighter is on a hot streak, beating Filip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller in his last two fights. Dubois arguably stopped Usyk in the fifth round after hitting him with a beltline shot that kept him on the canvas for four minutes.

The referee ruled it a low blow, but the replay showed that Dubois’s punch had clearly hit the beltline of Usyk’s hiked-up trunks, meaning he should have been KO’d.

If Joshua takes the fight with Dubois on September 21st and loses, he will mess up all the dough he would have gotten in a fight against Fury. The fight can still happen with Fury, but it won’t bring in as much money if Joshua comes into it after a knockout loss and Tyson suffers a second defeat against Usyk.

“Anthony and Daniel, I know the IBF title is important to you. It’s my present to you on September 21,” said Oleksandr Usyk on social media, letting Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois know that he’s vacating his IBF heavyweight title so they can battle for it on September 21st at Wembley Stadium in London.

Fury’s Frustration

This is terrible news for Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) because it means his rematch with WBA, WBC, and WBO champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) will have only three belts, not four, meaning he won’t get the chance to win the undisputed championship.

Fury complained about not getting the decision in his loss to May 18th, devising a wild conspiracy to explain why the victory wasn’t given to him against Usyk. He maintained that the Ukrainian Usyk won because of politics, not because he was the better fighter that night.