Usyk drops belts, Ennis beats Zayas: Five things we learned last week

Oleksandr Usyk stole the thunder from Xander Zayas and Jaron Ennis when he announced he would vacate his three heavyweight titles.

But 'Boots' ensured he recaptured the headlines as he dethroned his super-welterweight rival to become a two-division champion afterwards.

Here, DAZN News looks back at the week in boxing - and picks out five key stories worth revisiting as we head for the next seven days.

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Zayas vs. Ennis: Fight Night Raw

Watch: How this epic fight unfolded from behind the scenes

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Usyk drops heavyweight bombshell

There had been rumblings of an impending announcement from the Ukrainian's camp all last week - but it still came as a shock.

Usyk has vacated belts before, but he has not relinquished his full set at heavyweight until now, blowing the division wide open.

It clears a path too for a "last dance" from the star, with a Rico Verhoeven rematch or a bout with Deontay Wilder the likely picks.

'Boots' too cool for Zayas

Ennis may have not been too impressed with his own performance in Brooklyn, but it was more than enough to take the crown.

Dropping champion Zayas multiple times en-route to securing his WBA and WBO titles, it was another assured performance.

Cris Esqueda/Matchroom Boxing

For backer Eddie Hearn, undisputed would be the likely next goal - but Ennis hopes he can still coax Terence Crawford out too.

Crocker reign falls to Paro

Down under in midweek, Lewis Crocker saw his reign as IBF welterweight champion fall at the first hurdle against Liam Paro.

The Belfast man was edged in a frequently absorbing battle in Brisbane, derailing plans for a trilogy bout with Paddy Donovan.

Instead, the Australian will now be in the latter's sights, though backers No Limit Boxing are keen to secure bigger-name tests. 

Whittaker wins stateside

If there was one man seeking a statement performance on the Zayas-Ennis undercard, then it may have been Ben Whittaker.

Matchroom

The Briton comes with plenty of hype around his showboating style - but he didn't play with his food against Richard Rivera.

Whittaker needed just two rounds to dismiss the latter on his stateside debut, announcing his arrival to legions of New York fans.

Kabayel promoted to champion

It's only a matter of days since Usyk dropped his belts, but the WBC wasted little time when it came to filling the void left behind.

Interim champion Agit Kabayel confirmed on Saturday that he had been promoted to the full strap, ending a lengthy pursuit of it.

For the German, plans will now be afoot for a defence, with a few to unification opportunities. He will be relishing a busy year.

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