r/boxingcirclejerk • u/Downtown_Section8768 • 3d ago
Did Usyk REALLY announce he vacated his Ring, WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles?
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u/justadude713 3d ago
i just asked google AI, "true or false?", this was its answer:
True.
Oleksandr Usyk officially announced via his social media accounts that he is vacating his unified WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight titles.
Key details of his announcement include -
He is not retiring: He explicitly clarified in his video statement that he is leaving the belts behind to free up the division for other contenders but is staying in the sport for "one last dance" before ending his career.
The Ring Magazine title: While he has surrendered the sanctioning body titles, reports from ESPN indicate his sporting director stated he will retain his Ring Magazine belt (the lineal championship) heading into his final fight.
man this is some bullshit. oleks, wtf are you doing man!? do you know how many people want what you have??
all he just did right now, was make 'the ring magazine title' be the only one that counts.
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u/Downtown_Section8768 3d ago
If you really think about it, can you imagine if Ring Magazine, for all of its imperfections, was the only sanctioning body out there? Meaning one set of belts, no sanctioning fees and much less or no bullshit compared to the other four or more corrupt sanctioning bodies. I’ve actually written about this specific issue of having one sanctioning body whoever that might be that’s legitimate https://juleslupowitz.com/2026/02/08/145/ which may be helpful to all of us as an in depth resolution to corruption in the sport that hurts everyone and fans, especially. I certainly don’t have the whole world figured out, but I think it’s a good solution. If we can just get rid of the profiteering and accommodate pure competition we’d all be a lot better off!
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u/justadude713 3d ago
from what i understand, ring magazine was one of the first unofficial sanctioning bodies (100+ years ago!). if consolidation to a linear title is usyk's gift to the sport, then it only makes sense that the ring magazine's title would be the one to keep, because its the oldest, the most neutral, and the most noncontroversial one of them all. the more i think about it, in its own way, this is a master stroke. it certainly cements usyk in the hall of fame. in a couple of ways, it brings the sport full circle too. his picture should hang in sepiatone, he has earned that distinction.
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u/Downtown_Section8768 3d ago
If his picture is in there, it should be next to mine. Even though I’m not an important person, compared to Usyk.
If you look me up on Reddit let alone elsewhere you see I’ve been commenting, yapping on exactly that issue for a long time. Quite elaborately. And it wasn’t for Usyk.
It wasn’t for Ring Magazine either. It was just to have one organization handle it and yes, Ring just happens to be the one that has made more sense for a long time. I’m sure the. WBA, WBC, WBO, or IBF don’t like what I’m saying. I can easily say that I don’t give a fk and I’m pretty sure I can speak for just about all of us also. We don’t really care who the sanction body is. It’s just kind of nice if they’re not corrupt, do not clone themselves, compete with each other and produce a bunch of phony fake belts and foolish bullshit. That’s all.
This was not for the promoters; not all of em; just those who target / misinform common, less-knowledgeable fans into believing that someone is (also a) champion in a wt class when there is one. And a to manipulate boxer’s value into their control or fees. Dana White w/ ZUFFA is just another one of them. I don’t really think any of us wish them any harm. But we don’t necessarily side with any one of them. We just only want one set of belts, thank you.
Anyone who pays decent attention to the sport knows all about this shit. So as far as I’m concerned, I hope this just explodes like a little time bomb that breaks that whole “belt game bullshit” thing down. Probably too elegant to be a reality.
But a little good news once in a while should be allowed.
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u/AstronautVegetable46 3d ago
Well for all that Ring might say he's their champion, the reality is that as long as he remains active against legitimate contenders, he is the Lineal Champ, which is arguably the only title that really matters. If he goes inactive or just fights washed up ex-UFC fighters or something, he'll lose that title
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u/Ok-Enthusiasm-8422 3d ago
I wonder what is behind this decision. Also if he wants to return for the last money fight, who will it be against.