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Britain's heavyweight contender will be upgraded to heavyweight title holder after Oleksandr Usyk decided to relinquish his title

This situation arises after Usyk informed the World Boxing Organisation he would not engage in a obligatory title fight against his mandatory opponent

Official Announcement

The WBO stated that Usyk had "elected to relinquish his championship following careful thought"

The Ukrainian maintains the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight titles, having defeated Daniel Dubois at the national stadium in July to become a repeat unified title holder

He initially achieved the all-belt title holder in last year by beating Tyson Fury, before vacating another belt a month afterwards and deciding not to fight the mandatory challenger

"WBO president the WBO leader called Usyk "a champion of champions" in a statement"

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

"His career stands as one of the most extraordinary and historic of the recent fighting history"

The organization continued that its institution will continue to support the fighter and his management"

Title Reign

Usyk won the world title in recently by beating the British star and went on to successfully defend multiple times

In July, the WBO had ordered negotiations for a mandatory defence against temporary title holder Parker, only for a back injury sustained by Usyk to force the postponement of the bout

Wardley's Rise

But the 30-year-old British fighter, took the interim title from his opponent with a huge upset in the later stages at London's O2 Arena in the previous month and was ordered to fight the champion before the end of September

The boxing organization hasn't formally announced the title change but his representative believes it is a certainty

"The UK has a fresh boxing champion and a rising boxing talent"

"A truly extraordinary path during my long career as a promoter and I could not be prouder of Fabio Wardley"

"Major contests coming up for the coming period as he protects his championship and builds his reputation in the sport"

The champion started fighting relatively late, emerging from the amateur circuit and has had just 21 professional fights

Coming Challenges

• Wardley's expected promotion marks a significant moment in the division
• Usyk's decision to give up the championship opens new opportunities for other contenders
• The fighting community now awaits official confirmation from the boxing organization
• Wardley's story from alternative background to championship status continues to inspire many