Usyk vacated the WBO title earlier this year after being ordered to defend against Fabio Wardley. That order came after Wardley’s victory over Joseph Parker. Instead of taking the fight, Usyk relinquished the belt and retained the IBF, WBA and WBC titles.
His last fight came on July 19 when he stopped IBF champion Daniel Dubois in the fifth round. Since then, there has been no official announcement about his next fight. He is not expected back in the ring until 2026.
This leaves the rest of the section waiting.
With Usyk still holding three belts and no fight scheduled, the mandatory challengers are set. Rankings keep updating, but nothing moves without a defense or a vacancy. Fighters can take non-title fights to stay active, but that comes with risk. A loss could knock them out of position. Others choose to wait and lose time instead.
Agit Kabayel is one of the contenders affected by the delay. He remains high in the rankings, but there is no date and no enforcement order in place that will bring him closer to a title shot. The same uncertainty applies to other mandatory positions attached to Usyk’s remaining belts.
Sanctioning bodies have tools to act, but they have been slow to use them. Stripping a unified champion is rarely done quickly, especially when the champion is coming off a recent win and citing an injury. This left the system in limbo.
As of the end of December 2025, Usyk has no confirmed return date. There is also no timetable for resolving the outstanding mandatory obligations attached to his IBF, WBA and WBC titles.
For now, the belts stay on. The challengers are waiting. Nothing changes until Usyk fights again or gives one up.
