The British boxer won Usyk's belt, but only after the Ukrainian made it vacant.
Oleksandr Usyk fought his last fight in July 2025, defeating Briton Daniel Dubois. This victory allowed the Ukrainian to become a 2-time absolute world heavyweight champion, but at the end of the year he lost this status, making the WBO belt vacant.
Briton Fabio Wardley has been crowned the new WBO world champion. The boxer was expected to become the champion after the fight with the Ukrainian, but the latter decided to vacate the belt. Wardley will instead defend his title against former rival Usyk Dubois in a fight to be held in Manchester on May 9.