Oleksandr Usyk is longer the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Usyk opted to relinquish his WBO crown earlier this week, with Fabio Wardley now in possession of his old belt.
The Ukrainian was ordered to face former interim champion, Joseph Parker following his win over Daniel Dubois in July, but was granted an extension on negotiations after suffering an injury.
Wardley put himself in pole position for a shot at the 38-year-old after ripping the interim title away from Parker with an 11th round stoppage at the O2 Arena last month, but Usyk instead opted to vacate the belt.
Usyk’s manager Sergey Lapin insists the reason behind the decision to relinquish the title was to ensure fighters coming through can fight for it.
“Oleksandr vacated the belt to give younger fighters the opportunity to box for it,” Lapin told proboxing-fans.com.
“We’ll see how things develop next.”
Rising heavyweight prospect, Moses Itauma is the number one contender for Wardley’s belt, but a clash appears unlikely given the pair share a trainer in Ben Davison.
Lapin previously told proboxing-fans.com that he’d like to see a Wardley-Itauma showdown with the winner earning a shot at his charge and his opinion hasn’t changed.
“Fabio vs Moses would be a great fight for both of them, and it would be interesting to see who comes out on top.”
Lapin, the CEO of Ready To Fight, says no decision has been made on the two-weight world champion’s next move, who is planning on boxing until he’s 41-years-old.
‘The Cat’ bizarrely faced off with Jake Paul after his victory over Dubois in their rematch at Wembley Stadium.
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Paul announced on Tuesday a shock clash with former heavyweight world champion, Anthony Joshua, whom Usyk has beaten twice.
Despite their face-off, Lapin says talks with ‘The Problem Child’ did not materialise.
“Jake Paul came to the face-off with Usyk after the Dubois fight purely for hype — that’s how Instagram works.
“Nothing serious came out of that moment.”
