Hours after achieving what once seemed impossible—a victory over Tyson Fury that followed back-to-back wins over Anthony Joshua, establishing Oleksandr Usyk as the undisputed heavyweight champion—Usyk’s emotions overwhelmed him. “I miss my father,” Usyk said, choking up in a roomful of reporters.
Oleksandr Usyk Sr. died in 2012, days after his son won gold at the London Olympics. Usyk had no bigger supporter than his dad, a military man who took up farming when the family moved from Simferopol, a city on the Crimean Peninsula, into the Ukrainian countryside. It was Senior who taught Oleksandr how to fight, who steered him to the right trainers, who told anyone that would listen that his son, the skinny kid with a gap tooth, was destined for greatness. “I have absolutely no idea where his true belief in me came from,” says Usyk. Days before Oleksandr was scheduled to return home from London, Senior passed. When the son arrived, his father was already in his coffin. Oleksandr slipped the medal into his hand and walked away.
Usyk says his father still visits him before fights, a smiling image that comes to him in dreams. He was there in May, before Usyk stepped into the ring with Fury, a towering heavyweight—officially listed at 6' 9" and 262 pounds—who made Usyk’s sturdy 6' 3", 223-pound frame look several weight classes smaller by comparison. Usyk flipped the script that night, taking the fight to Fury, knocking the undefeated champion down in the ninth round en route to a narrow split-decision win. Afterward, Fury admitted Usyk was better than he expected. Usyk, tears welling in his eyes, said he hoped he made his father proud.
It’s late October and Usyk is speaking over a Zoom call from Valencia, Spain, where he is holding training camp for his rematch with Fury, scheduled for Dec. 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Camp, Usyk says, has been “excellent,” flashing a smile through his still toothy grin. If Usyk’s boxing skills have made him arguably the best fighter of this generation, his dry humor has made him one of the most endearing. In 2020, his social media posts calling out British heavyweight Derek Chisora went viral. (“Derekkk,” Usyk would threaten from various locations, “I’m coming for you”) and his humorous interview quotes (like “I am feel. I am very feel,” in response to the usual “How are you feeling?” question) have been reprinted on T-shirts. A week before Halloween, Usyk arrived at a press conference to promote the Fury rematch dressed as Agent 47, the popular character from the Hitman video game.
Behind the smiles, though, is a palpable heaviness. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating a war that had begun nearly a decade earlier. Suddenly, the country his father loved was being torn apart. Among the earliest images beamed across the world was of Usyk, sheltering in his home in Kyiv, describing what was happening live on CNN. “My soul belongs to the Lord,” he said. “My body and my honor belong to my country.” In the weeks that followed, Usyk joined the territorial defense, patrolling the streets with a rifle over his shoulder. “I prayed that I didn’t get shot,” he says. “And I prayed that I didn’t have to shoot anybody.”
There have been more than a million casualties since the start of the Russian offensive. More than 400,000 Ukrainians have been wounded, according to estimates, with more than 80,000 killed. As the fighting nears its third year, there is no end in sight. As Usyk nears his rematch with Fury, he insists there is only one fight that matters. “Ukraine,” says Usyk, “has to win.”
Growing up, both Usyk’s parents were farmers and if he knew anything, it was he didn’t want to do that. “I thought I was special,” says Usyk. Soccer came first, then boxing, which became a lifestyle two months in, when he battered a more seasoned amateur during a sparring session. He turned pro in 2013, “a hurricane that came into the boxing world,” says his former promoter, Eddie Hearn, storming through the less-than-glamorous cruiserweight division to become undisputed champion almost five years later.
After a couple of test-the-waters fights at heavyweight, he took on Joshua, defeating the hard-hitting champion on his home soil in September 2021. He beat Joshua again nearly a year later, then knocked out another Brit, Daniel Dubois in August 2023, before besting Fury in a split-decision victory in May to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era. “Can you imagine how much pressure this man had,” marvels Wladimir Klitschko, the former heavyweight champion who was ringside watching his countryman’s win over Fury. “He was fighting for all Ukrainians.”
Sometimes, Usyk wonders if he should have been fighting at all. When Russia invaded, he quickly headed home. With Ukraine’s airports closed, he flew to Poland, driving nearly 500 miles from Warsaw to Kyiv. His plan was to join the military. “My friends told me they would never let me in,” he says. The territorial defense, which was more of a well-armed police force, was the next best option. “I was just hoping for our regular army guys, for their success,” says Usyk. “So they don’t allow the enemy to come closer to us and I will not have to shoot.”
A few months into the invasion, Usyk was approached by Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir’s brother, himself a former heavyweight champ, who has served as mayor of Kyiv since 2014. Growing up, Usyk admired the Klitschkos. When Usyk traveled to amateur tournaments, he would get quizzical looks when he said he was from Ukraine, a country that formally gained its independence in 1991. The Klitschkos, who rose to prominence in the early 2000s, legitimized it. “People immediately recognized the country,” says Usyk. “Not for presidents or politicians but for the athletes.”
Vitali appreciated Usyk’s desire to defend his homeland. But he believed he could do more good from outside of it. “I did not want to leave,” says Usyk. “I was given an assignment to resume my career because Ukraine needed as much exposure in the media as possible.”
Initially, says Usyk, focusing on training was challenging. “It tried to break me,” he says. He thought about his friends serving on the front line, many of whom he grew up boxing with. “Every time it felt difficult, I imagined what it was like for them,” says Usyk. When he returned to Ukraine between fights, he would visit them. When Usyk suggested he could be more useful there, they told him to focus on his own job. “And,” says Usyk, “to go away.”
Usyk did, though his family, his wife, Yekaterina, and their two daughters, stayed behind. (Usyk’s sons, Kyrylo and Mykhalio, live in Spain with their grandparents.) Once, Usyk called his daughter, Yelizaveta, to tell her about flooding near his training camp. The roads were closed and the supermarkets were cleaned out. Papa, Yelizaveta said, We have 500 kilogram bombs exploding here. “They are not afraid,” says Usyk. “No fear.”
Still, the separation from his family has been difficult. When the fight with Fury, originally scheduled for February, was postponed due to a facial injury Fury suffered in training, Usyk elected to stay in camp. He missed holidays. Birthdays. When his youngest daughter, Maria, was born, Usyk wasn’t there. Soldiers were sacrificing every day for Ukraine, he reasoned. He should be willing to do the same.
“There are three major things that either kill a man or allow him to live,” says Usyk. “The first who got broken were the ones who thought it [would] end soon. The second who got broken were the ones who thought it [would] never end. The ones who survive are the ones who have a goal to win and follow their goal.”
Across Ukraine, Usyk’s victory over Fury was celebrated. “Ukrainians hit hard!” President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media. Vitali Klitschko said Usyk “showed the world that Ukrainians are capable of defeating a strong opponent in a difficult fight.” When Usyk returned to his locker room, his phone was hot from all the incoming messages. One, however, stood out. It was a video from a group of soldiers on the front line. Details of the fight had been disseminated via walkie-talkie. According to Usyk, when news of his win spread, the platoon was inspired to push forward and reclaim another 100 meters of ground.
“They feel so much confidence in themselves,” says Usyk. “They are going through some really hard times now, but they’re so confident in what they do—and in the result—that they do some absolutely extraordinary things.
“The reason why it’s so important for Ukraine to win is because Ukraine plays the role of a deterrent for Europe and the rest of the world. Russia wants as much as possible and the moment there is nothing in between, they will bring a lot of sorrow to the other territories … Ukraine is fighting for everyone. And we will win.”
Towards the end of the 45-minute call, Usyk’s smile returns. Wins over Joshua and Fury have formed the foundation of an incomparable legacy. No fighter has ever gone undisputed in cruiserweight and heavyweight in the four-belt era and it’s unlikely any will again. Usyk’s career earnings stand at more than $80 million, some of which he pumps into the Usyk Foundation, a nonprofit that supplies Ukraine with everything from humanitarian aid to the cash to buy weapons. For the rematch with Fury, he will earn tens of millions more.
Winning will be difficult. The first fight was competitive, with one judge scoring in favor of Fury. But it’s nothing compared to what his family and countrymen are facing every day. As the interview ends, he stretches back in a chair. “I must rest,” says Usyk. “One more training today.” Pausing, he looks into the camera for one final word:
“Ukraine.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Oleksandr Usyk Fights for Much More Than a Heavyweight Title.