As Ukraine fights for its life against the Russian invasion, the country’s star boxer Oleksandr Usyk recently enjoyed the fight of his life when he vanquished his previously undefeated British opponent, Tyson Fury. Despite his birth in Crimea and speaking Russian, he seeks an end to the Russian occupation of his country.
Who is Oleksandr Usyk?
Until he was aged 15, Oleksandr Usyk had ambitions to be a professional footballer. He was trained at SC Tavriya in Simferopol, the second largest city on the Crimean Peninsula, the town in which he was born. His club was a member of the Ukrainian Football League and won the first Ukrainian Premier League title. In 2002 Usyk switched to boxing, graduating from the Lviv State University of Physical Culture. He enjoyed a glittering introduction to the world of amateur boxing, winning 335 bouts at the loss of only 15. He won a gold medal in the European championships in 2008. His years as an amateur culminated in a gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012. The following year he became a professional boxer.
How does Usyk address conflict?
Oleksandr Usyk recently confronted one of his most fearsome opponents yet, the British heavyweight, Tyson Fury. The match, in Saudi Arabia in May, was billed as the alphabet soup of the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and Undisputed Heavyweight title fight. Mercifully abbreviated to the “four belt era,” Usyk became the first boxer to hold all four major heavyweight belts at the same time and the first undisputed champion since 2000. The struggle was analogous to the ebb and flow of Ukrainian gains and losses in defending its territory from Russian aggression. Usyk prevailed in the opening rounds before Fury’s counter-offensive in the fourth. Despite Usyk turning the tide in the eighth round and Fury limping through the final rounds, Usyk only managed a marginal victory on points.
“Donetsk is Ukraine. Lugansk is Ukraine. Zaporozhye is Ukraine. Crimea is Ukraine. Kherson is Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”
Does Usyk plan to continue fighting?
Usyk’s fights take place against the battle for survival by Ukraine. Not satisfied with his singular boxing victory, he granted Fury the offer of a rematch immediately after the recent fight. He has shown equal determination to see the back of the Russians from Ukraine. Usyk has a Russian wife and Russian is his first language. Despite this, when Russia invaded his birthplace of Crimea, he swore never to exchange his Ukrainian for Russian citizenship. He has declared his loyalty to his country by saying, “Donetsk is Ukraine. Lugansk is Ukraine. Zaporozhye is Ukraine. Crimea is Ukraine. Kherson is Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”
