"It's Unfair." Lewis on Usyk's Decision to Vacate IBF Title

Former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis weighed in on Oleksandr Usyk's (22-0, 14 KOs) decision to vacate his IBF title, following the scheduling of his rematch with Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) on December 21.

"I’ve been in a similar situation. You fight one opponent, you sit down for a minute to rest, and suddenly you have several guys saying, 'You need to fight me,' 'You need to fight me,' 'You need to fight me.'

But you can only fight one opponent at a time. If you don’t, suddenly they strip you of your title. I think it's unfair, but that's the way it goes," said Lewis.

Usyk vacated the IBF title due to his inability to defend it, given his commitment to the rematch against Fury. Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) was declared the new IBF champion and will defend the title against Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London, UK.

In May, Usyk defeated Fury by split decision, becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years. The last holder of that title was Lennox Lewis, who claimed it after defeating Evander Holyfield by unanimous decision in their November 1999 rematch.