Usyk's deprivation of the title of absolute world champion angered Bellew

Former world heavyweight champion Tony Bellew is outraged that Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) was stripped of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt after defeating Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs). The Briton called the event, which will take place in the next two weeks, shameful.

Bellew wrote about this on his page on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter. The former rival of the Ukrainian boxer accused the IBF of unfairly treating the new absolute world heavyweight champion and urged the organization not to make mistakes.

"This is why my great sport is shooting itself in the foot! Why should Usyk vacate the belt? He is the best heavyweight on the planet, and he just showed it. Let him rematch with Fury or fight another contender for the belt. It's very simple! I'm outraged by the politics of this sport," Bellew emphasized.

Usyk defeated Fury by a split decision – 115:112, 113:114, 114:113. After the fight, the British fighter called the war in Ukraine one of the reasons for his defeat. Tyson also expressed his desire to visit Ukraine.

At the same time, referee Mark Nelson's decision to score Tyson a knockdown in the ninth round drew criticism from experts. Usyk was hospitalized immediately after the fight.

World lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) reacted to his compatriot's victory in three words. In Russia, the Ukrainian's triumph was called a victory for "the entire Slavic people."

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