The new age of boxing and the new heavyweight era is here now after Usyk gave up his old title belts.
He was the undisputed champion.
That was not just some boxer throwing away the old titles like they were nothing. They used to mean something.
In fact, the heavyweight championship of the world used to be greatest prize in all of sport.
So for the champion to just vacate the belts to pursue better fights on offer than the mandatories for them — speaks volumes.
It shows you the worth of the old belts themselves is just not what it was anymore.
Boxers and spectators have got tired of pointless mandatories and the leading boxers more and more continue to give up the old four belts.
Jessie Bam Rodriguez doing the same also last week.
Now, there is a host of heavyweight contenders fighting for Usyk’s vacated belts but the meaning of them has lost all meaning.
What you are seeing though is possibly some good fights for some of them however.
Namely that Frank Sanchez vs Moses Itauma one so far.
All be it Itauma has to come through Filip Hrgovic first for it to even happen.
The point is, it is not about belts, Itauma vs Sanchez is just an entertaining scrap.
This is the new era of heavyweight boxing that we are in now and the new age of boxing.
Where the fights take precedence.
Besides, there are too many new belts and titles being created all the time by different companies anyway.
Usyk apparently is looking at one last fight in the US against names such as Deontay Wilder and Jon Jones per recent talk online.
It shows you as well that boxers are not interested in paying sanctioning fees anymore for the old four belt organizations.
They can make more without that but crucially there is bigger upside in going after the big fights when that opportunity arises to make more.
Now, maybe sometimes a big fight still involves one of their old defunct titles but that is not why a fight is a big fight.
It is because the consumer wants to see a genuinely competitive and exciting fight for whatever reason between two boxers.
Between the best boxers in a given weight class, two rising prospects or maybe a clash between two of the best boxers pound for pound.
The consumer is not looking at weight anymore and what you might see this give rise to more is catchweight fights as well.
Only in recent days Devin Haney, a welterweight champion from the US, has had his father Bill Haney offer pound for pound rated Shakur Stevenson a catchweight fight.
The current heavyweight division and era was a bit of a weak era it must be pointed out.
Usyk sat on top of it for a while but the standard was poor.
He slipped himself a lot as well as his last fight with Rico, a kickboxing champion, illustrated clearly.
He salvaged the fight with a late uppercut stoppage but he could have lost to a man with just one pro boxing match to his name other than that.
He is looking to cash out now and go for a big fight.
He leaves the heavyweight division wide-open in a time now where belts have lost meaning to the general sports spectators and consumer.
And to most hardcre boxing spectators as well.
The fragmentation in the current heavyweight landscape will have the net effect in the time ahead of new prospects and contenders coming through all the time.
A weak era will see them fight it out now to establish who is the best heavyweight post-Usyk.
In the eyes of the sport of boxing’s spectators worldwide Alexander Usyk is still the man at heavyweight however.
Boxer Alexander Usyk is still considered the real heavyweight champion, the true heavyweight champion — also known as the lineal heavyweight champion.
Until either someone beats him or he retires.
That is the truth of it.
The heayvweight division and the sport of boxing moves on and continues to return to the masses in the new age of heavyweight boxing.
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