Eddie Hearn Says Oleksandr Usyk’s Exit Makes Heavyweight Division More Exciting

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Asked how Usyk’s departure changes the landscape, Hearn said the division now has a chance to produce several new titleholders instead of remaining centered around one dominant champion.

“It’s great news for the contenders and actually, to be honest with you, great news for the division because I think we’re going to see some interesting things throw up,” Hearn said to Secondsout.

“If you look at the WBA, it’s Gassiev against Jarrell Miller for the world title. If you look at the IBF, it’s Frank Sanchez… Then you’ve got Wardley and Dubois obviously fighting for the IBF. Then you’ve got Itauma. Maybe they make the Hrgovic fight for the vacant title.”

Hearn believes the reshuffled championship picture could ultimately benefit fans by creating more meaningful fights among the division’s leading contenders.

“You’re going to be in a situation where you could have four world champions, which I don’t mind, as long as they fight each other,” said Hearn.

“They’re not massive names either, so you could see some unifications and some great matchups. Then you’ve got the Fury-Joshua winner looking to fight for the belt. So I actually think it’s really exciting.”

Usyk announced on Friday that he was vacating his WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles after becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era. His decision leaves multiple sanctioning bodies preparing to crown new champions over the coming months.

Hearn has already confirmed that Anthony Joshua remains committed to facing Kristian Prenga before a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury. Beyond those contracted bouts, he says Joshua’s objective is to become a three-time heavyweight champion, a goal that could become more attainable with several vacant titles expected to be filled by new champions.