Major puncher becomes Britain's latest heavyweight champion

Fabio Wardley has been upgraded to full WBO world heavyweight champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title on Monday.

Wardley held the interim title after impressively defeating Joseph Parker last month, putting him at the front of the line to challenge Usyk in a future bout.

However, the Ukrainian ended his second reign as undisputed champion by relinquishing the WBO crown, paving the way for Wardley to claim the full title.

"The World Boxing Organisation announced today that it has received formal communication from Team Oleksandr Usyk regarding the future of the WBO Heavyweight Championship," a WBO statement read. "After thoughtful consideration, Usyk has elected to relinquish his title."

The statement continued: "We accept and respect his decision to relinquish the WBO Heavyweight Super Championship. This is not a farewell, but - as expressed by his team - a respectful pause. The doors of the WBO will always remain open to Oleksandr Usyk and his team."

Wardley told SkySports that a fight against Usyk for the undisputed title "has been the goal for a number of years now," but it appears as though the Ipswich-born fighter will not get that chance anytime soon.

Usyk, who has held the undisputed title at cruiserweight and heavyweight, still holds the WBC, WBA, IBF, and The Ring titles and has not indicated his future plans.

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