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Britain's heavyweight contender will be upgraded to heavyweight title holder after Oleksandr Usyk opted to give up his title

This development comes after Ukrainian fighter notified the WBO he would not proceed with a obligatory title fight against Wardley

Official Announcement

The championship body announced that Usyk chose to vacate his title after thoughtful consideration"

The Ukrainian maintains the multiple world titles, having defeated Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in the summer month to become a repeat unified title holder

He initially achieved the complete unified champion in last year by defeating the British champion, before giving up the IBF title shortly after and deciding not to fight the obligatory contender

"WBO president Olivieri praised the Ukrainian fighter in a announcement"

"The organization offers its sincere admiration and thanks to the Ukrainian champion, an undefeated, two-division WBO undisputed world champion"

"His record represents one of the most remarkable and significant of the modern boxing era"

The organization continued that its institution will continue to support the champion and his camp"

Title Reign

The champion captured the WBO belt in recently by beating the British star and went on to protect his title repeatedly

In July, the WBO had ordered negotiations for a required title defense against interim champion Joseph Parker, only for a champion's back problem to cause the delay of the fight

New Champion's Path

But the 30-year-old British fighter, won the provisional belt from Parker with a huge upset in the championship rounds at the famous London arena in the previous month and was mandated to face Usyk before the month's conclusion

The boxing organization hasn't formally announced the British fighter's elevation but his representative believes it is a formality

"The UK has a fresh boxing champion and a rising boxing talent"

"One of the most incredible stories I've seen in my 45 years as a boxing representative and I could not be more pleased for Wardley"

"Some huge fights ahead for the coming period as he maintains his title and creates a true legacy in the boxing world"

The champion started fighting at twenty years old, coming through the unlicensed white-collar scene and has had just 21 professional fights

Coming Challenges

• The likely championship upgrade represents an important development in the division
• The champion's choice to vacate the belt opens new opportunities for other contenders
• The sport now expects formal announcement from the championship body
• Wardley's story from late starter to world champion continues to capture attention