WBO Names Krzysztof Glowacki As Cruiserweight Champion, Will Defend Title On June 15
Oleksandr Usyk has lost his third cruiserweight title and with that, a new champion has been crowned by the WBO.
The WBO announced that Krzysztof Glowacki has been elevated from interim champion to sole world champion now that Usyk is trying to make a run at a heavyweight world title. Usyk was supposed to make his heavyweight debut in May, but suffered a bicep injury that forced him to withdraw from his fight against Carlos Takam.
With the announcement of Glowacki being ascended to WBO champion came the news of Glowacki’s first title defense. Glowacki will defend his title against Mairis Briedis, ranked No. 2 by the WBO, on June 15 in Riga, Latvia in the World Boxing Super Series semifinals. That fight will be streamed on DAZN in the United States.
Glowacki won the interim title in the World Boxing Super Series quarterfinals last year with a unanimous decision win over Maksim Vlasov. Glowacki previously held the WBO world title from 2015 to 2016 and lost the belt to Usyk in September 2016.
This is now the second day in a row in which a governing body announced that Usyk is no longer their cruiserweight champion. The WBC announced that Usyk has been moved to “Champion in Recess,” meaning the actual championship has no titleholder. Prior to this, Usyk’s reign as WBA champion ended after electing not to fight mandatory challenger Denis Lebedev.
Although the WBC has yet to officially announce its plans for the title, the vacant belt is expected to be on the line in the World Boxing Super Series, meaning at least two of the four major alphabet world titles at cruiserweight will be held by one man at the conclusion of the tournament.
The only other title that Usyk still has in his possession is the IBF title, but that title is also expected to be vacant soon. There is no word on if the IBF world title will also be on the line at any point in the tournament.
