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Oleksandr Usyk

January 19, 2024

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Oleksandrovych and the family name is Usyk.

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (Ukrainian: Олекса́ндр Олекса́ндрович У́сик; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified[a] heavyweight titles since 2021, and the Ring magazine title since 2022. He has also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title since 2021. Previously, he held the undisputed[b] cruiserweight championship from 2018 to 2019, being the first boxer in that division to hold all four major world titles.

Oleksandr Usyk
Олекса́ндр У́сик
Usyk in 2022
Born
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk

(1987-01-17) 17 January 1987 (age 37)
Simferopol, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
NationalityUkrainian
Other namesThe Cat
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[1]
Reach78 in (198 cm)[1]
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record
Total fights21
Wins21
Wins by KO14
Medal record

Usyk is widely regarded as one of the greatest Ukrainian boxers of all time and one of the greatest cruiserweights of all time, alongside Evander Holyfield. With his victory over Anthony Joshua in 2021, Usyk became one of only three boxers to have unified the cruiserweight world titles and become a world heavyweight champion, joining Evander Holyfield and David Haye.[2]

As an amateur, Usyk won heavyweight gold medals at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics. He turned professional in 2013 and won the undisputed cruiserweight championship in his 15th professional fight in 2018. Three of his titles were won during the inaugural World Boxing Super Series, in which he won the Muhammad Ali Trophy, as well as the Ring and lineal cruiserweight titles. For his achievements, Usyk was named the 2018 Fighter of the Year by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).[3][4][5]

In 2018 Usyk became the fourth male boxer in history to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles, after Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins and Terence Crawford. He was the first Ukrainian undisputed champion. He is particularly notable for the speed of his accomplishments, winning his first world title in his tenth fight, and becoming the undisputed champion of his weight class by his fifteenth fight. Usyk vacated his cruiserweight titles in 2019 to move up to heavyweight. By that point, in sixteen fights he had defeated five current or former world champions. In September 2021, Usyk defeated unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles. He defended the titles in a rematch against Joshua in August 2022, whilst winning the vacant Ring title.

As of August 2022, Usyk is ranked as the world's best active boxer, pound for pound, by The Ring,[6] second by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB),[7] third by BWAA,[8] fifth by BoxRec[9] and sixth by ESPN.[10] He is also ranked as the best heavyweight by TBRB,[11] BoxRec[12] and ESPN.[13]

Early life

Usyk was born in Simferopol, Crimean Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union on 17 January 1987, to parents originally from northern Ukraine. His mother was born in the Chernihiv region (in the village of Rybotyn, Korop Raion),[14][15] while his father was a native of Sumy.[16][14] His mother worked in construction and moved to Simferopol to study.[16] His father was a military man who passed through Afghanistan, working as a security guard in Crimea, and the two met there.

He is the first born of his family and he has two siblings.[17] Until age 15, he played football and was trained at the SC Tavriya Simferopol specialized sports school of Olympic reserve (club's football academy).[18] In 2002 Usyk switched to boxing. He is a graduate of Lviv State University of Physical Culture.

Amateur career

At the 2006 European Championships he won his first three matches but lost in the semi-final to Matvey Korobov.

He then moved up to light-heavyweight later and won the Strandja Cup in 2008.

 
Usyk in 2012

In February 2008, he moved up another weight class and was sent to the Olympic qualifier in Roseto degli Abruzzi replacing European Champion Denys Poyatsyka. There he defeated world class Azeri Elchin Alizade and Daniel Price.[19]

At the 2008 Olympic Games, Usyk outpointed Yushan Nijiati by 23–4, but lost to Clemente Russo by 4–7 in the quarter-final.

He dropped down to light-heavyweight and won gold at the 2008 European Championships, but later moved back up to heavyweight. At the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships he defeated Artur Beterbiev and Teymur Mammadov to win the heavyweight title and qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Usyk won the gold medal, outpointing Artur Beterbiev, Tervel Pulev and Italy's Clemente Russo, outscoring him by 6–3 in the final.[20]

Usyk retired from amateur boxing with a record of 335−15.[21]

Prior to turning professional, he competed in the heavyweight division (91+ kg) of the 2012–13 World Series of Boxing (WSB), as part of team Ukraine Otamans, winning all six of his bouts with two by stoppage (Junior Fa by UD, Eric Brechlin by 3rd-round TKO, Joe Joyce by UD, Magomedrasul Majidov by UD, Matteo Modugno by 2nd-round TKO and Mihai Nistor by UD).[22][23]

Professional career

Early career

Usyk turned pro in late 2013 at the age of 26 and signed a promotional deal with the Klitschko brothers' K2 Promotions, fighting in the cruiserweight division.[24]

On 9 November 2013 Usyk made his professional debut by defeating Mexican fighter Felipe Romero via a fifth-round knockout. The following month he stopped 38 year old Epifanio Mendoza in four rounds. In his third professional fight on 26 April 2014, Usyk made his debut in Germany on the undercard of Klitschko-Leapai at the Koenig Pilsener Arena, defeating Ben Nsafoah via third-round knockout.[25] A month later, Usyk returned home and scored a fourth-round knockout-victory over Argentine Cesar David Crenz.

Rise up the ranks

 
Usyk's fight with Andrey Knyazev attracted 3.6 million viewers on Ukrainian television[26]

Usyk won his first title on 4 October 2014, after beating South African boxer Daniel Bruwer via seventh-round technical knockout (TKO) for the interim WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title.[27] Usyk defended the title two months later, stopping 35 year old Danie Venter in the ninth-round.[28] Usyk was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the time of stoppage.

Usyk made another defence on 18 April 2015, against former Russian cruiserweight champion Andrey Knyazev (11–1, 6 KOs) in Kyiv. After seven one-sided rounds, referee Mickey Vann finally stopped the fight in round eight after deciding Knyazev had taken too much punishment. This win kept Usyk on course to a WBO title fight against then champion Marco Huck.[29]

On 29 August 2015, Usyk defeated former South African light heavyweight champion Johnny Muller via third-round TKO at the Sport Palace in Kyiv, which saw Usyk control the fight with a jab. Usyk knocked down Muller twice in round three and although Muller protested, the referee waved the fight off with one second of the round left.[30]

Usyk made a fourth and final defense against unknown Cuban boxer Pedro Rodriguez in a scheduled 12-round fight on 12 December at the Sport Palace. Usyk won the fight scoring, his ninth straight knockout in as many fights, first dropping Rodriguez in round six with an uppercut before the fight was stopped in round seven, being knocked down again, although he beat the count. This win put Usyk at the WBO's number 1 position, with a World title fight on the cards for 2016.[31]

WBO cruiserweight champion

Usyk vs. Głowacki

In June 2016, it was announced that Usyk would challenge undefeated Polish boxer Krzysztof Głowacki (26–0, 16 KOs) for his WBO cruiserweight title on 17 September, at the Ergo Arena, Gdansk, Poland.[32][33][34] It was reported that Usyk's trainer James Ali Bashir wanted to recruit former world champion Antonio Tarver as a sparring partner. It was said that Tarver not only requested too much money, but also wanted to appear on the card as a co-featured main event.[35] Głowacki weighed 199.3 pounds, with Usyk coming in slightly lighter at 198.75 pounds.[36] The fight was shown live on Sky Sports in the UK.[37] On the night, Usyk outpointed Głowacki after an exciting 12-round fight with the judges scoring it 119–109, 117–111, and 117–111 all in Usyk's favour. The decision win also ended Usyk's knockout streak. Usyk dominated the fight with his footwork, superior hand speed and spearing jab, injuring Głowacki's eye early in the fight, causing a cut that continued to bleed for the remainder of the contest.[38][39]

Usyk vs. Mchunu

Usyk announced he would be making his American debut on the Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith Jr. undercard on 17 December 2016. The fight would take place at the Forum in Inglewood, California.[40] On 11 November K2 Promotions announced Usyk would be defending his WBO title against 28 year old South African boxer Thabiso Mchunu (17–2, 11 KOs). Mchunu previously lost to Ilunga Makabu via eleventh-round stoppage, although being ahead on the scorecards at the time.[41][42] The fight started out slow, causing the fans in attendance to boo with displeasure. The pace picked up after the first couple of rounds when Usyk began breaking down Mchunu with his trademark, accurate combinations. Usyk scored a knockdown in the sixth round, and a further two more in the ninth, causing referee Lou Moret to wave off the fight at 2:53 of round 9.[43] CompuBox statistics showed that Usyk landed 163 of 517 punches thrown (32%), and Mchunu landed 76 of his 278 (27%).[44]

Prior to the fight, Usyk spoke of his desire to fight other cruiserweight titlists as well as fighting Anthony Joshua at heavyweight.[45][46] The fight averaged 560,000 viewers on HBO: this was considered good numbers, considering it was Usyk's HBO debut and on the undercard.[47]

Usyk vs. Hunter

K2 Promotions announced that Usyk would be returning to regular HBO to defend his cruiserweight world title in April 2017. He was originally planned to appear on the undercard of the Golovkin-Jacobs HBO PPV in March at Madison Square Garden; however, since Román González and Carlos Cuadras were scheduled to appear in separate fights and not fight each other, Usyk was pulled from the card.[48]

On 12 February 2017, Usyk announced that he had parted ways with long time trainer James Ali Bashir and replaced him with Vasiliy Lomachenko's father and trainer, Anatoly Lomachenko.[49][50] Bob Arum announced that Usyk would be part of a triple header including Vasiliy Lomachenko at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on 8 April 2017 against Michael Hunter (12–0, 8 KOs).[51] Usyk weighed 199.4 whilst Hunter came in at 199 pounds.[52] In front of a sold-out crowd of 2,828, where there was majority Ukrainian fans in attendance, Usyk was taken the distance for the second time in his career and won a rather one-sided unanimous decision to retain his WBO title. Hunter unexpectedly controlled the first three rounds behind the jab. It wasn't until the fourth round, when Usyk took control of the bout using his left and connecting well to the body to win the majority of the remaining rounds. Pundits thought Hunter was gifted going the distance and the fight should have been stopped by referee Bill Clancy in the championship rounds. In the last minute of round 12, it appeared Hunter, while taking punches, was only standing because the ropes where holding him up. The referee halted the action and gave Hunter a standing eight count, ruling it a knockdown for Usyk. All three judges scored the fight unanimously 117–110 for Usyk. Although it took him a few rounds to get into the fight, Usyk was happy with his performance and called out other titleholders, "I'm very happy with my performance. I did what I wanted to do. He took a lot of punches. I thought maybe they would stop the fight (in the 12th round). I'd love to fight any of the titleholders, any time, any place."[53]

According to CompuBox punch stats, Usyk landed 321 of his 905 punches thrown, 36%. Hunter managed to land 24% of his punches, connecting 190 of 794.[54] The fight drew an average of 679,000 viewers on HBO and peaked at 774,000 viewers.[55][56]

World Boxing Super Series

Main article: 2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – cruiserweight division

On 1 July 2015, Usyk finally announced that he would join fellow cruiserweights Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev, Yuniel Dorticos, Marco Huck and Krzysztof Włodarczyk in the eight-man bracket style tournament, due to start in September 2017. He said, "I feel happy and inspired with the idea of such a tournament. I've been dreaming of putting together all the champs to see who is the strongest and becomes the undisputed king of the division." The draw was to take place on 8 July in Monte Carlo. The winner of the tournament would receive a grand money prize and the Muhammad Ali trophy.[57]

Usyk vs. Huck

Main article: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marco Huck

At the Draft Gala, Usyk, who had first pick, chose to fight former WBO champion Marco Huck (40–4–1, 27 KOs). When asked why he chose Huck, Usyk said, "Because of my fans." Huck, who was equally excited, replied that Usyk was his 'wish opponent'.[58] On 26 July it was announced that the fight would take place at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin on 9 September 2017. This would mark the second time Usyk would fight in Germany as a professional, having fought there in his third professional bout in April 2014. It would also mark the first fight of the tournament.[59][60][61]

On 6 September 2017, at the final press-conference, Huck pushed Usyk in the face-off. In regards to the shove, Huck said, "I wanted to show Usyk that he is in my hometown and that he should be prepared for the battle of his life on Saturday." Usyk, who remained professional and calm, replied, "If you want to be a great champion, you have to beat the best and Huck is one of the best. I chose to enter this tournament because it is a path to achieve my dream of unifying all the belts. There's a prestigious trophy at stake too, the Muhammad Ali Trophy. We were born on the same day and I admire Ali because he is the biggest role model in boxing and I will thank God if I win a trophy with his name on it."[62] As he was leaving the building, Usyk claimed he would 'bury' Huck.[63]

On fight night, Usyk used his footwork and combination punching to cruise to a TKO win. On top of his dominant performance, Usyk taunted Huck throughout the fight. In round 8, Usyk tripped on Huck's feet and Huck lost a point on the scorecards as he threw a punch at Usyk when the latter was down. Usyk continued to land combinations with little to no response from Huck until referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight in the tenth-round. With the win, Usyk progressed to the semi-final stage of the Super Series and was to face the winner of the Mairis Briedis vs. Mike Perez, scheduled for 30 September.[64][65]

Unified cruiserweight champion

Usyk vs. Briedis

Usyk would next fight Mairis Briedis (23–0, 18 KOs) following the latter's win over Perez via unanimous decision.[66][67][68] In November 2017, it was reported the fight would take place on 27 January 2018 in Riga, Latvia, a week before Gassiev vs. Dorticos takes place.[69] Arēna Rīga was confirmed as the location by Comosa's Chief Boxing Officer Kalle Sauerland.[70] Usyk came in at 199.5 pounds and Briedis weighed 199.1 pounds.[71] Usyk moved on to the final of the tournament after defeating Briedis via majority decision. With a high work rate, Usyk controlled most of the fight with his jab, applying pressure when needed. Briedis was credited with landing the harder punches. The opening four rounds were closely contested, with Usyk receiving a cut over his right eye from an accidental clash of heads in the third round. From round five, Usyk became busier and took control of the fight, although he was still hit with some hard shots to the head from Briedis. One judge scored the fight 114–114, whilst the remaining two judges scored the fight 115–113 in favour of Usyk, giving him the win. After the fight, Usyk stated it was the hardest fight of his career.[72][73] According to CompuBox Stats, Usyk landed 212 of 848 punches thrown (25%) and Briedis was more accurate, landing 195 of his 579 thrown (33.7%). Usyk landed 40% of his power punches.[74] Many boxers and pundits praised the fight.[75]

Undisputed cruiserweight champion

Usyk vs. Gassiev

After Usyk defeated Briedis, it was announced in the post-fight press conference that the final would take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 11 May 2018.[76] However, once Murat Gassiev (26–0, 19 KOs) stopped Yuniel Dorticos, setting up the final, the secretary general of the Russian Boxing Federation, Umar Kremlev, stated that he would push forward in order to outbid Saudi Arabia and have the final of the tournament take place in Russia on the Day of Russian Boxing on 22 July. On 16 April, it was reported that Usyk had suffered an elbow injury during training, pushing the final to possibly June or July 2018.[77][78] On 18 June, at a press conference, Kremlev announced the final would take place on 21 July at the Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia.[79] On 29 June, the final was officially confirmed.[80] On the release date, 7,000 tickets were sold.[81] Both boxers came in at 198.45 pounds at the weigh-in.[82]

Usyk quickly took control of the fight, moving rapidly and using his "beautiful, commandeering jab". Usyk controlled the fight, not allowing Gassiev to use his power. Gassiev did not land a solid punch until the end of round 2. According to many reports, Usyk outclassed, outboxed, and dominated Gassiev. The result was never in question as Usyk was declared the winner by unanimous decision, with the judges’ scorecards reading 120–108, 119–109, and 119–109.[83] Muhammad Ali's widow, Lonnie Ali, presented the trophy to Usyk. After the fight, both combatants were exemplars of good sportsmanship, embracing, with Gassiev saying "I had the best opponent of my professional career ... today is Oleksandr's day". Usyk humbly adding "My team made me look like I looked in the ring. This is our victory". The win made Usyk the first ever four-belt undisputed cruiserweight champion.[84][85] Usyk dominated throughout, landing 252 of 939 thrown punches (27%), compared to Gassiev's 91 landed of 313 thrown (29%). Usyk used his superior conditioning to finish the fight, also increasing his output by landing 47 of 117 punches thrown in round 12. Usyk managed to withstand the 32 power body shots he received and continued to move around the ring.[86]

When asked whom he would like to fight next, Usyk said, "At this time I have heard that Tony Bellew wants to fight the winner of the Muhammad Ali Trophy. I hope he will see me talking.... 'hey Tony Bellew, are you ready?' If he doesn't want to go down [in weight], I will go up [in weight] for him. I will eat more spaghetti for my dinner!" Also after the fight Usyk said: "Olympic [stadium], thanks. People, countrymen and those who supported. Moscow 2018. Bang! Daddy's in the building!".[87][88]

Usyk vs. Bellew

After calling out Tony Bellew (30-2-1, 20 KOs) after winning the tournament, Bellew responded via social media that he would accept the fight; however, he stated the fight would need to take place in 2018 and be for the undisputed cruiserweight championship. Bellew believed a fight at heavyweight would not be as appealing as he would not gain much with a win. Bellew also stated it would be his last fight as a professional.[89][90] By the end of July, it was said the fight would likely take place in November 2018 in London.[91] After positive meetings between Bellew's promoter Eddie Hearn and K2's Alexander Krassyuk, on 20 August, Boxing Scene reported the fight was likely to take place on 10 November 2018.[92][93] A week later, K2 Promotions confirmed the date of the fight.[94] On 5 September, the WBA ordered Usyk to start negotiating with Denis Lebedev (30–2, 22 KO), who was their 'champion in recess' and gave them until the first week of October 2018 to complete negotiations.[95] There was said to be a stumbling block for the potential Usyk vs. Bellew fight. According to Hearn, the fight was likely to be pushed back to 2019. Prior to negotiations, Bellew stated the fight must happen in 2018.[96][97]

On 7 September, Usyk signed a multi-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing, which meant he would fight exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in USA. The agreement meant Matchroom would co-promote Usyk alongside K2 Promotions. Usyk's next fight would be confirmed 'in the very near future', according to Hearn.[98][99] A week after signing with Matchroom, the Usyk vs. Bellew fight was announced to take place on 10 November at the Manchester Arena, live and exclusive on Sky Box Office.[100][101] Experienced British referee Terry O'Connor was named as the official.[102] Bellew weighed 199+1⁄4 pounds, just over 2 years since he last made the cruiserweight limit and Usyk weighed 198+1⁄4 pounds.[103]

On fight night, Usyk, who is usually a slow starter, eventually took full control of the bout and stopped Bellew in round 8 to retain all the cruiserweight belts. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:00 of round 8. There was very little action in round 1 as both boxers showed each other respect. It was a feeling out round. Due to the lack of action, the crowd began to boo towards the end of the first. Overall, Usyk landed just 3 jabs and Bellew landed 1 power shot. Round 2 was similar, however Bellew stepped on the gas, managed to land some clean shots along with some showboating. Bellew took control in round 3, landing two straight right hands. Usyk began using his jab more and after landing an overhand left, Bellew was left slightly shaken. By the end of round 4, Bellew was backed up against the ropes and looked to tire. Bellew aimed most of his shots to Usyk's body and by round 7, was missing a lot of shots, mostly due to Usyk's foot movement, and ended the round with a bloody nose. In round 8, whilst in a neutral corner, Usyk landed a hard left, again buzzing Bellew, forcing him to move away against the ropes. Another left hand wobbled Bellew before Usyk finished him off with another left, dropping Bellew backwards with his head landing on the bottom rope. A brave Bellew tried to get up slowly and beat the count but referee Terry O'Connor stopped the fight. Bellew's 10-fight winning streak came to an end. Judges Alejandro Cid and Steve Gray scored the first seven rounds 68–65 and 67–66 respectively in favour of Bellew and Yury Koptsev had the fight 67–67 entering round 8.[104][105]

Afterwards, Bellew paid tribute to Usyk and announced his retirement from boxing, saying; "I have been doing this for 20 years, and it is over." Usyk stated 2018 was the most difficult year of his career, but most successful. "We need to put goals in front of us and move towards them," Usyk later stated.[106][107] There was a small concern during Bellew's post-fight interview as many felt he was clearly concussed.[108] According to CompuBox stats, Usyk landed 112 of his 424 punches thrown (26%) and Bellew landed 61 of his 268 thrown (23%). Both landed 47 power shots each.[109]

Heavyweight

"I've been boxing since I was 15 years old. They kept telling me that I shouldn't be boxing. They told me that I wouldn't become an Olympic champion or a world champion and that I shouldn't have switched to the heavyweight division. But these were opinions from people who couldn't do it themselves. Personally, I keep praying and move forward. I don't worry about whether I will reach my destination."

–Usyk, on his unusual career path.[110]

After defeating Bellew, Usyk declared his intention to move up to heavyweight. Carlos Takam (36-5-1, 28 KO) was announced as his opponent, with the fight scheduled for 25 May 2019. On 7 May, it was reported that Usyk had suffered a bicep injury. The bout was rescheduled for a date in September, to be featured on DAZN.[111] On 22 August, following the Golovkin vs. Derevyanchenko press conference, promoter Eddie Hearn revealed in an interview that Carlos Takam is "out of the fight" and "will not be taking the fight".[112] Usyk also had the option to challenge the winner of the rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles as the mandatory for the WBO belt, as per WBO regulations, which allow a 'super champion' of a weight class to become an immediate mandatory challenger when moving up or down in weight.[113]

Usyk vs. Witherspoon

In September, Usyk's heavyweight debut was announced to be on 12 October 2019, at the Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, against Tyrone Spong (14–0, 13 KOs).[114] A few days before the fight, Spong tested positive for a banned substance, clomiphene, and the fight was thrown into disarray. Promoter Eddie Hearn said there were several backup fighters being considered.[115] Spong's replacement was then announced as Chazz Witherspoon (38–3, 29 KOs).[116] Usyk won the fight as Witherspoon retired in his corner after round 7.[117]

Usyk vs. Chisora

Main article: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Derek Chisora

On 11 March 2020 it was announced that Usyk would fight former world title challenger Derek Chisora (32–9, 23 KOs) on 23 May 2020 at The O2 Arena in London. If successful, Usyk would be first in line to fight for the WBO heavyweight title held by Anthony Joshua.[118] As part of his preparation for his bouts, Usyk sparred occasionally with former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.[119] The fight was pushed back to 31 October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the venue was moved to The SSE Arena.[120] On the night, Usyk used his superior footwork and stamina to wear down his opponent and win a unanimous decision victory with scores of 117–112, 115–113, 115–113. Chisora had become worn and exhausted later on in the fight, struggling to keep up with Usyk.[121] In his post-fight interview, Usyk reiterated his desire to fight Joshua, saying "Anthony, how are you? I'm coming for you, Anthony."[122]

Unified heavyweight champion

Usyk vs. Joshua

Main article: Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk

Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, for whom Usyk was the WBO mandatory challenger, had been in negotiations to fight undefeated WBC and The Ring champion Tyson Fury.[123] However, when it appeared that Fury would instead be forced to face former WBC champion Deontay Wilder in a trilogy bout due to an arbitration ruling,[124] the WBO gave Joshua's camp 48 hours to come to an agreement for the fight with Fury on 21 May 2021, or they would instead order Joshua to face Usyk. Joshua and Fury's camps could not reach an agreement, and thus on 22 May the WBO issued the instruction that Joshua would have to fight Usyk, with an agreement for the bout to be in place by 31 May.[125] Usyk reacted to these developments with a video message directed to Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn, telling him, "Eddie, I want money, more money."[126]

On 20 July, an official announcement was made, confirming that the fight between Usyk and Joshua would be taking place on 25 September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.[127] Although many fans and pundits doubted Usyk would have the size or power to trouble Joshua, Usyk produced an upset, outboxing the champion and rocking him several times over 12 rounds to claim a unanimous decision victory, with scores of 117–112, 116–112 and 115–113, and retained his undefeated record. Reflecting upon his performance in his post-fight interview, Usyk said, "This means a lot for me. The fight went the way I expected it to go. There were moments when Anthony pushed me hard but it was nothing special. I had no objective to knock him out because my corner pushed me not to do that. In the beginning, I tried to hit him hard, but then I stuck to my job."[128] On 22 June, it was announced that a rematch was scheduled to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 20 August with Usyk defending the WBA, WBO and IBF championship belts, and Joshua, as the challenger.[129]

Usyk vs. Joshua II

Main article: Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II

On 29 September 2021, four days after Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua to become unified world heavyweight champion, it was announced by his promoter Alexander Krassyuk that a one-sided rematch clause which had been specified in the fight contract had "already been activated in principle, from the side of Joshua." Krassyuk noted that Usyk relished the prospect of squaring off against Joshua twice: "So I remember when we discussed with Oleksandr the issue of rematch, he was delighted and said 'Wow, cool, I will beat Antokha [sic] twice.'"[130] Regarding the venue of the rematch, Usyk made it known that he hoped it would take place in his native country of Ukraine, saying, "I would love to have the rematch at Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv." However, Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, stated that Ukraine was a "very unlikely" venue, as he wanted to maximise income: "I think it will be international or the UK, I would think it would be in the UK."[131]

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, a potential Usyk–Joshua rematch was thrown into doubt. In the days following the start of the invasion, Usyk posted on his social media channels to confirm that he had returned to Ukraine, and to plead with Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the invasion, with one video captioned "NO WAR".[132] On 2 March, Usyk confirmed in a video interview with American news network CNN that he had taken up arms and joined a territorial defence battalion in Ukraine. Regarding his professional boxing career, Usyk said, "I really don't know when I'm going to be stepping back in the ring. My country and my honour are more important to me than a championship belt."[133] In late March, it was reported that Usyk would be leaving Ukraine to begin preparations for the rematch with Joshua.[134][135] Usyk revealed his decision to leave his homeland and refocus his efforts on boxing was supported by Mayor of Kyiv and former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, as well as his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko, also a former heavyweight champion who had been defeated by Anthony Joshua in 2017.[136]

On 19 June 2022, it was officially announced that Usyk would be facing Joshua in a rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 20 August. The fight marked the first defense of Usyk's world heavyweight titles, whilst it was Joshua's twelfth consecutive world heavyweight title fight. The fight was also an attempt by Joshua to become a three-time world heavyweight champion.[137]

Despite Joshua's much improved performance compared to his first loss to Usyk,[138][139] the latter successfully defended his belts by a split decision with one judge, Glenn Feldman, scoring the fight 115–113 to Joshua, while the other two judges scoring it 115–113 and 116–112 in Usyk's favour. The split decision was controversial as the majority of viewers expected a unanimous decision for Usyk.[140][141] The Ring magazine called Glenn Feldman's scorecard "horrible".[139] Among those criticizing his judging were promoter Lou DiBella and boxing trainer Teddy Atlas.[140]

According to New York Times statistics, Joshua landed 37 body punches compared to 15 in their first fight.[142] Overall, however, Usyk outperformed Joshua, landing 170 of 712 punches, compared with 124 of 492 for Joshua.[142][143] According to CompuBox, Usyk established new records for punches landed by an opponent (170) and most punches landed on Joshua in a single round (39 punches in the 10th round).[143]

Usyk vs. Dubois

Main article: Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois

Usyk defended his unified heavyweight titles against WBA (Regular) champion Daniel Dubois on 26 August 2023, in Wrocław, Poland.[144] While Usyk retained his titles via ninth-round stoppage, there was controversy surrounding the events of the fifth round, when Usyk dropped to the canvas following a punch from Dubois that was controversially ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon. Accordingly, Usyk was given a maximum of five minutes to recover, but despite declaring he was ready to continue, Pabon urged Usyk to take more time out. Usyk ultimately used three minutes and forty-five seconds before the fight resumed. Usyk forced Dubois to take a knee in the eighth round and again in the ninth round, where he was counted out.[145][146] According to CompuBox stats, Usyk had outlanded Dubois in every round of the fight, landing 88 of 359 punches thrown (24.5%) to Dubois' 47 of 290 (16.2%). Dubois failed to land double digits in any round of the fight.[147]

Debate subsequently followed regarding the fifth round low blow as many observers felt it should actually have been ruled a legal punch and thus potentially resulted in a KO victory for Dubois. In his post-fight interview, Dubois opined: "I didn't think that was a low blow. I thought that landed, and I’ve been cheated out of victory tonight.” However, Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk argued "The belly button is the line. Anything low of that is a low blow." This argument was echoed by others including boxers Tony Bellew and Liam Smith. [148][149][150]

Undisputed heavyweight championship

Usyk vs. Fury

Main article: Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk

Usyk has been scheduled to face WBC champion Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[151] The fight contract signing was announced on September 29, 2023.[152] The fight was officially announced for 17 February 2024 on 16 November 2023.

Personal life

Usyk is married and has three children.[153] They live in Kyiv, Ukraine.

His wife has Russian citizenship and the boxer uses Russian as his first language.[154] On 28 April 2014, after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Usyk declared he would never exchange his Ukrainian citizenship for Russian citizenship.[155] In 2016, responding to a question if he can still enter Crimea, he stated that he often visits his family in the peninsula; that he does not like to talk politics due to the fact that people like to take words out of context, that in Russia he has many fans and that he does not divide "our peoples because we are Slavs".[156] Afterwards, whenever pressed on the question, Usyk would often reply "Crimea belongs to God";[157] however in September 2022 Usyk stated that Crimea "was, is and will be" Ukrainian and that it had been taken away forcefully from Ukraine.[158][159] In November, after Ukrainian Armed Forces recaptured Kherson, Usyk posted a message on his Instagram account: "Donetsk is Ukraine. Luhansk is Ukraine. Zaporizhzhia is Ukraine. Crimea is Ukraine. Kherson is Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to ZSU".[160]

In December 2020, it was announced that he will become a partner of WePlay Esports for the upcoming WePlay Ultimate Fighting League. Esports host James Banks has this to say about Usyk's involvement in his DashFight interview: “He is helping us to bridge that gap between esports and actual, real fighting in terms of boxing and what we can deliver. I think it opens up a different avenue of where we can bring new people from outside of esports, and also bring some people from esports to look back at boxing because it is a time-loved sport. MMA obviously is a big sport that people are talking about, but boxing has always been the classic”.[161]

Usyk is an Orthodox Christian. After his fight against Anthony Joshua, he said in an interview, "The only thing I wanted to do with this fight is to give praise to my Lord Jesus Christ and to say that all comes from him."[162]

On 26 February 2022, Usyk urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to call off Russia's invasion of Ukraine that had begun on 24 February.[163] A few days later, Usyk, fellow boxer Vasiliy Lomachenko and Bellator MMA Welterweight Champion Yaroslav Amosov travelled to Ukraine to join the country's territorial defense forces,[164][165][166] although in late March, Usyk left Ukraine to train for his rematch with Anthony Joshua.[167]

In 2022, he became a co-founder and brand ambassador of the Ready to Fight[168] - international blockchain platform, whose mission is to make building a boxing career easier and more accessible by creating effective connections between athletes, managers, agents, doctors and other specialized professionals, as well as sports services, infrastructure and fans.[169]

In 2023, Usyk signed a one-year professional contract with Ukrainian Premier League team FC Polissya Zhytomyr. He was given the number 17.[170] He had previously made a substitute appearance for the club in the 76th minute of a 2-1 friendly win over Veres in February 2022.[171] Usyk has stated he intends to play football after he retires from boxing.[172]

Professional boxing record

21 fights 21 wins 0 losses
By knockout 14 0
By decision 7 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
21 Win 21–0 Daniel Dubois KO 9 (12), 1:48 26 Aug 2023 Stadion Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland Retained WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles
20 Win 20–0 Anthony Joshua SD 12 20 Aug 2022 King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Retained WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles;
Won vacant The Ring heavyweight title
19 Win 19–0 Anthony Joshua UD 12 25 Sep 2021 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England Won WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles
18 Win 18–0 Derek Chisora UD 12 31 Oct 2020 The SSE Arena, London, England Won WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
17 Win 17–0 Chazz Witherspoon RTD 7 (12), 3:00 12 Oct 2019 Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, US
16 Win 16–0 Tony Bellew KO 8 (12), 2:00 10 Nov 2018 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Retained WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles
15 Win 15–0 Murat Gassiev UD 12 21 Jul 2018 Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia Retained WBC and WBO cruiserweight titles;
Won WBA (Super), IBF and vacant The Ring cruiserweight titles;
World Boxing Super Series: cruiserweight final
14 Win 14–0 Mairis Briedis MD 12 27 Jan 2018 Arēna Rīga, Riga, Latvia Retained WBO cruiserweight title;
Won WBC cruiserweight title;
World Boxing Super Series: cruiserweight semi-final
13 Win 13–0 Marco Huck TKO 10 (12), 2:12 9 Sep 2017 Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany Retained WBO cruiserweight title;
World Boxing Super Series: cruiserweight quarter-final
12 Win 12–0 Michael Hunter UD 12 8 Apr 2017 MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, US Retained WBO cruiserweight title
11 Win 11–0 Thabiso Mchunu TKO 9 (12), 1:53 17 Dec 2016 The Forum, Inglewood, California, US Retained WBO cruiserweight title
10 Win 10–0 Krzysztof Głowacki UD 12 17 Sep 2016 Ergo Arena, Gdańsk, Poland Won WBO cruiserweight title
9 Win 9–0 Pedro Rodriguez TKO 7 (12), 1:57 12 Dec 2015 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine Retained WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
8 Win 8–0 Johnny Muller TKO 3 (12), 2:59 29 Aug 2015 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine Retained WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
7 Win 7–0 Andrey Knyazev TKO 8 (10), 2:24 18 Apr 2015 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine Retained WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
6 Win 6–0 Danie Venter TKO 9 (10), 2:29 13 Dec 2014 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine Retained WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
5 Win 5–0 Daniel Bruwer TKO 7 (10), 2:55 4 Oct 2014 Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine Won vacant WBO interim Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
4 Win 4–0 Cesar David Crenz KO 4 (8), 2:19 31 May 2014 Sports Palace, Odesa, Ukraine
3 Win 3–0 Ben Nsafoah KO 3 (8), 1:43 26 Apr 2014 König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany
2 Win 2–0 Epifanio Mendoza TKO 4 (6), 2:10 7 Dec 2013 Ice Arena TEC Terminal, Brovary, Ukraine
1 Win 1–0 Felipe Romero TKO 5 (6), 1:36 9 Nov 2013 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine

Viewership

Pay-per-view bouts

No. Date Fight Country Network Buys Source(s)
1 10 November 2018 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew
United Kingdom
 Sky Box Office
819,000
 [173]
2 31 October 2020 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Derek Chisora
United Kingdom
 Sky Box Office
1,059,000
 [174][175][176]
Ukraine
 MEGOGO
100,000
 [177]
3 25 September 2021 Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk
United Kingdom
 Sky Box Office
1,232,000
 [178][179]
4 22 August 2022 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II
United Kingdom
 Sky Box Office
1,249,000
 [180]
5 26 August 2023 Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois
United Kingdom
 TNT Sports Box Office
Total sales 4,459,000

International

Date Fight Country Network Viewers Source
20 August 2022 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II Ukraine MEGOGO 1,500,000 [181]
Total viewership 1,500,000

See also

Notes

  1. ^ World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super version), International Boxing Federation (IBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles
  2. ^ WBA (Super version), World Boxing Council (WBC), IBF, WBO, and Ring magazine titles

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External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oleksandr Usyk.
  • Official website
  • Oleksandr Usyk at BoxRec (registration required) 
  • Oleksandr Usyk at Olympics.com 
  • Oleksandr Usyk at Olympedia 
  • 2006 European Championships Results
  • Olympic qualifier
  • AIBA results for Olympic qualification
Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
New title WBO Inter-Continental
cruiserweight champion
Interim title
4 October – December 2014
Promoted 		Vacant
Vacant
Title last held by
Krzysztof Głowacki 		WBO Inter-Continental
cruiserweight champion
December 2014 – 17 September 2016
Won world title 		Vacant
Title next held by
Imre Szellő
Preceded by WBO Inter-Continental
heavyweight champion
31 October 2020 – April 2021
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Joseph Parker
Minor world boxing titles
Preceded by IBO heavyweight champion
25 September 2021 – present 		Incumbent
Major World boxing titles
Preceded by
Krzysztof Głowacki
 WBO cruiserweight champion
17 September 2016 – 5 June 2019
Vacated 		Succeeded by
Krzysztof Głowacki
Preceded by WBC cruiserweight champion
27 January 2018 – 4 June 2019
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Ilunga Makabu
Preceded by WBA cruiserweight champion
Super title
21 July 2018 – 27 March 2019
Vacated 		Succeeded by
Denis Lebedev
Preceded by
Murat Gassiev
 IBF cruiserweight champion
21 July 2018 – 15 June 2019
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Yuniel Dorticos
Vacant
Title last held by
Yoan Pablo Hernández 		The Ring cruiserweight champion
21 July 2018 – 16 October 2019
Vacated 		Vacant
Title next held by
Mairis Briedis
Vacant
Title last held by
O'Neil Bell 		Undisputed cruiserweight champion
21 July 2018 – 27 March 2019
Titles fragmented 		Vacant
Preceded by
Anthony Joshua
 WBA heavyweight champion
Super title
25 September 2021 – present 		Incumbent
IBF heavyweight champion
25 September 2021 – present
WBO heavyweight champion
25 September 2021 – present
Vacant
Title last held by
Tyson Fury 		The Ring heavyweight champion
20 August 2022 – present
Awards
Previous:
Vasiliy Lomachenko 		The Ring Fighter of the Year
2018 		Next:
Canelo Álvarez
BWAA Fighter of the Year
2018
Achievements
Preceded by
Canelo Álvarez
 The Ring pound for pound #1 boxer
7 May – 11 June 2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Naoya Inoue
 The Ring pound for pound #1 boxer
20 August 2022 – present 		Incumbent

January 19, 2024
oleksandr, usyk, this, name, that, follows, eastern, slavic, naming, conventions, patronymic, oleksandrovych, family, name, usyk, oleksandr, oleksandrovych, usyk, ukrainian, Олекса, ндр, Олекса, ндрович, сик, born, january, 1987, ukrainian, professional, boxer. In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions the patronymic is Oleksandrovych and the family name is Usyk Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk Ukrainian Oleksa ndr Oleksa ndrovich U sik born 17 January 1987 is a Ukrainian professional boxer He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes including the unified a heavyweight titles since 2021 and the Ring magazine title since 2022 He has also held the International Boxing Organization IBO title since 2021 Previously he held the undisputed b cruiserweight championship from 2018 to 2019 being the first boxer in that division to hold all four major world titles Oleksandr UsykOleksa ndr U sikUsyk in 2022BornOleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk 1987 01 17 17 January 1987 age 37 Simferopol Ukrainian SSR Soviet UnionNationalityUkrainianOther namesThe CatStatisticsWeight s Cruiserweight HeavyweightHeight6 ft 3 in 191 cm 1 Reach78 in 198 cm 1 StanceSouthpawBoxing recordTotal fights21Wins21Wins by KO14Medal record Men s amateur boxingRepresenting UkraineOlympic Games2012 London HeavyweightWorld Championships2011 Baku Heavyweight2009 Milan HeavyweightEuropean Championships2008 Liverpool Light heavyweight2006 Plovdiv MiddleweightWorld Cup2008 Moscow HeavyweightStrandzha Cup2008 Plovdiv Light heavyweightUsyk is widely regarded as one of the greatest Ukrainian boxers of all time and one of the greatest cruiserweights of all time alongside Evander Holyfield With his victory over Anthony Joshua in 2021 Usyk became one of only three boxers to have unified the cruiserweight world titles and become a world heavyweight champion joining Evander Holyfield and David Haye 2 As an amateur Usyk won heavyweight gold medals at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics He turned professional in 2013 and won the undisputed cruiserweight championship in his 15th professional fight in 2018 Three of his titles were won during the inaugural World Boxing Super Series in which he won the Muhammad Ali Trophy as well as the Ring and lineal cruiserweight titles For his achievements Usyk was named the 2018 Fighter of the Year by Sports Illustrated ESPN The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America BWAA 3 4 5 In 2018 Usyk became the fourth male boxer in history to simultaneously hold the WBA WBC IBF and WBO titles after Jermain Taylor Bernard Hopkins and Terence Crawford He was the first Ukrainian undisputed champion He is particularly notable for the speed of his accomplishments winning his first world title in his tenth fight and becoming the undisputed champion of his weight class by his fifteenth fight Usyk vacated his cruiserweight titles in 2019 to move up to heavyweight By that point in sixteen fights he had defeated five current or former world champions In September 2021 Usyk defeated unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to win the WBA IBF WBO and IBO titles He defended the titles in a rematch against Joshua in August 2022 whilst winning the vacant Ring title As of August 2022 Usyk is ranked as the world s best active boxer pound for pound by The Ring 6 second by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board TBRB 7 third by BWAA 8 fifth by BoxRec 9 and sixth by ESPN 10 He is also ranked as the best heavyweight by TBRB 11 BoxRec 12 and ESPN 13 Contents 1 Early life 2 Amateur career 3 Professional career 3 1 Early career 3 2 Rise up the ranks 3 3 WBO cruiserweight champion 3 3 1 Usyk vs Glowacki 3 3 2 Usyk vs Mchunu 3 3 3 Usyk vs Hunter 3 4 World Boxing Super Series 3 4 1 Usyk vs Huck 3 5 Unified cruiserweight champion 3 5 1 Usyk vs Briedis 3 6 Undisputed cruiserweight champion 3 6 1 Usyk vs Gassiev 3 6 2 Usyk vs Bellew 3 7 Heavyweight 3 7 1 Usyk vs Witherspoon 3 7 2 Usyk vs Chisora 3 8 Unified heavyweight champion 3 8 1 Usyk vs Joshua 3 8 2 Usyk vs Joshua II 3 8 3 Usyk vs Dubois 3 9 Undisputed heavyweight championship 3 9 1 Usyk vs Fury 4 Personal life 5 Professional boxing record 6 Viewership 6 1 Pay per view bouts 6 2 International 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External linksEarly lifeUsyk was born in Simferopol Crimean Oblast Ukrainian SSR Soviet Union on 17 January 1987 to parents originally from northern Ukraine His mother was born in the Chernihiv region in the village of Rybotyn Korop Raion 14 15 while his father was a native of Sumy 16 14 His mother worked in construction and moved to Simferopol to study 16 His father was a military man who passed through Afghanistan working as a security guard in Crimea and the two met there He is the first born of his family and he has two siblings 17 Until age 15 he played football and was trained at the SC Tavriya Simferopol specialized sports school of Olympic reserve club s football academy 18 In 2002 Usyk switched to boxing He is a graduate of Lviv State University of Physical Culture Amateur careerAt the 2006 European Championships he won his first three matches but lost in the semi final to Matvey Korobov He then moved up to light heavyweight later and won the Strandja Cup in 2008 nbsp Usyk in 2012In February 2008 he moved up another weight class and was sent to the Olympic qualifier in Roseto degli Abruzzi replacing European Champion Denys Poyatsyka There he defeated world class Azeri Elchin Alizade and Daniel Price 19 At the 2008 Olympic Games Usyk outpointed Yushan Nijiati by 23 4 but lost to Clemente Russo by 4 7 in the quarter final He dropped down to light heavyweight and won gold at the 2008 European Championships but later moved back up to heavyweight At the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships he defeated Artur Beterbiev and Teymur Mammadov to win the heavyweight title and qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics At the 2012 Olympic Games in London Usyk won the gold medal outpointing Artur Beterbiev Tervel Pulev and Italy s Clemente Russo outscoring him by 6 3 in the final 20 Usyk retired from amateur boxing with a record of 335 15 21 Prior to turning professional he competed in the heavyweight division 91 kg of the 2012 13 World Series of Boxing WSB as part of team Ukraine Otamans winning all six of his bouts with two by stoppage Junior Fa by UD Eric Brechlin by 3rd round TKO Joe Joyce by UD Magomedrasul Majidov by UD Matteo Modugno by 2nd round TKO and Mihai Nistor by UD 22 23 Professional careerEarly career Usyk turned pro in late 2013 at the age of 26 and signed a promotional deal with the Klitschko brothers K2 Promotions fighting in the cruiserweight division 24 On 9 November 2013 Usyk made his professional debut by defeating Mexican fighter Felipe Romero via a fifth round knockout The following month he stopped 38 year old Epifanio Mendoza in four rounds In his third professional fight on 26 April 2014 Usyk made his debut in Germany on the undercard of Klitschko Leapai at the Koenig Pilsener Arena defeating Ben Nsafoah via third round knockout 25 A month later Usyk returned home and scored a fourth round knockout victory over Argentine Cesar David Crenz Rise up the ranks nbsp Usyk s fight with Andrey Knyazev attracted 3 6 million viewers on Ukrainian television 26 Usyk won his first title on 4 October 2014 after beating South African boxer Daniel Bruwer via seventh round technical knockout TKO for the interim WBO Inter Continental cruiserweight title 27 Usyk defended the title two months later stopping 35 year old Danie Venter in the ninth round 28 Usyk was ahead on all three judges scorecards at the time of stoppage Usyk made another defence on 18 April 2015 against former Russian cruiserweight champion Andrey Knyazev 11 1 6 KOs in Kyiv After seven one sided rounds referee Mickey Vann finally stopped the fight in round eight after deciding Knyazev had taken too much punishment This win kept Usyk on course to a WBO title fight against then champion Marco Huck 29 On 29 August 2015 Usyk defeated former South African light heavyweight champion Johnny Muller via third round TKO at the Sport Palace in Kyiv which saw Usyk control the fight with a jab Usyk knocked down Muller twice in round three and although Muller protested the referee waved the fight off with one second of the round left 30 Usyk made a fourth and final defense against unknown Cuban boxer Pedro Rodriguez in a scheduled 12 round fight on 12 December at the Sport Palace Usyk won the fight scoring his ninth straight knockout in as many fights first dropping Rodriguez in round six with an uppercut before the fight was stopped in round seven being knocked down again although he beat the count This win put Usyk at the WBO s number 1 position with a World title fight on the cards for 2016 31 WBO cruiserweight champion Usyk vs Glowacki In June 2016 it was announced that Usyk would challenge undefeated Polish boxer Krzysztof Glowacki 26 0 16 KOs for his WBO cruiserweight title on 17 September at the Ergo Arena Gdansk Poland 32 33 34 It was reported that Usyk s trainer James Ali Bashir wanted to recruit former world champion Antonio Tarver as a sparring partner It was said that Tarver not only requested too much money but also wanted to appear on the card as a co featured main event 35 Glowacki weighed 199 3 pounds with Usyk coming in slightly lighter at 198 75 pounds 36 The fight was shown live on Sky Sports in the UK 37 On the night Usyk outpointed Glowacki after an exciting 12 round fight with the judges scoring it 119 109 117 111 and 117 111 all in Usyk s favour The decision win also ended Usyk s knockout streak Usyk dominated the fight with his footwork superior hand speed and spearing jab injuring Glowacki s eye early in the fight causing a cut that continued to bleed for the remainder of the contest 38 39 Usyk vs Mchunu Usyk announced he would be making his American debut on the Bernard Hopkins vs Joe Smith Jr undercard on 17 December 2016 The fight would take place at the Forum in Inglewood California 40 On 11 November K2 Promotions announced Usyk would be defending his WBO title against 28 year old South African boxer Thabiso Mchunu 17 2 11 KOs Mchunu previously lost to Ilunga Makabu via eleventh round stoppage although being ahead on the scorecards at the time 41 42 The fight started out slow causing the fans in attendance to boo with displeasure The pace picked up after the first couple of rounds when Usyk began breaking down Mchunu with his trademark accurate combinations Usyk scored a knockdown in the sixth round and a further two more in the ninth causing referee Lou Moret to wave off the fight at 2 53 of round 9 43 CompuBox statistics showed that Usyk landed 163 of 517 punches thrown 32 and Mchunu landed 76 of his 278 27 44 Prior to the fight Usyk spoke of his desire to fight other cruiserweight titlists as well as fighting Anthony Joshua at heavyweight 45 46 The fight averaged 560 000 viewers on HBO this was considered good numbers considering it was Usyk s HBO debut and on the undercard 47 Usyk vs Hunter K2 Promotions announced that Usyk would be returning to regular HBO to defend his cruiserweight world title in April 2017 He was originally planned to appear on the undercard of the Golovkin Jacobs HBO PPV in March at Madison Square Garden however since Roman Gonzalez and Carlos Cuadras were scheduled to appear in separate fights and not fight each other Usyk was pulled from the card 48 On 12 February 2017 Usyk announced that he had parted ways with long time trainer James Ali Bashir and replaced him with Vasiliy Lomachenko s father and trainer Anatoly Lomachenko 49 50 Bob Arum announced that Usyk would be part of a triple header including Vasiliy Lomachenko at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill Maryland on 8 April 2017 against Michael Hunter 12 0 8 KOs 51 Usyk weighed 199 4 whilst Hunter came in at 199 pounds 52 In front of a sold out crowd of 2 828 where there was majority Ukrainian fans in attendance Usyk was taken the distance for the second time in his career and won a rather one sided unanimous decision to retain his WBO title Hunter unexpectedly controlled the first three rounds behind the jab It wasn t until the fourth round when Usyk took control of the bout using his left and connecting well to the body to win the majority of the remaining rounds Pundits thought Hunter was gifted going the distance and the fight should have been stopped by referee Bill Clancy in the championship rounds In the last minute of round 12 it appeared Hunter while taking punches was only standing because the ropes where holding him up The referee halted the action and gave Hunter a standing eight count ruling it a knockdown for Usyk All three judges scored the fight unanimously 117 110 for Usyk Although it took him a few rounds to get into the fight Usyk was happy with his performance and called out other titleholders I m very happy with my performance I did what I wanted to do He took a lot of punches I thought maybe they would stop the fight in the 12th round I d love to fight any of the titleholders any time any place 53 According to CompuBox punch stats Usyk landed 321 of his 905 punches thrown 36 Hunter managed to land 24 of his punches connecting 190 of 794 54 The fight drew an average of 679 000 viewers on HBO and peaked at 774 000 viewers 55 56 World Boxing Super Series Main article 2017 18 World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight division On 1 July 2015 Usyk finally announced that he would join fellow cruiserweights Mairis Briedis Murat Gassiev Yuniel Dorticos Marco Huck and Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in the eight man bracket style tournament due to start in September 2017 He said I feel happy and inspired with the idea of such a tournament I ve been dreaming of putting together all the champs to see who is the strongest and becomes the undisputed king of the division The draw was to take place on 8 July in Monte Carlo The winner of the tournament would receive a grand money prize and the Muhammad Ali trophy 57 Usyk vs Huck Main article Oleksandr Usyk vs Marco Huck At the Draft Gala Usyk who had first pick chose to fight former WBO champion Marco Huck 40 4 1 27 KOs When asked why he chose Huck Usyk said Because of my fans Huck who was equally excited replied that Usyk was his wish opponent 58 On 26 July it was announced that the fight would take place at the Max Schmeling Halle in Berlin on 9 September 2017 This would mark the second time Usyk would fight in Germany as a professional having fought there in his third professional bout in April 2014 It would also mark the first fight of the tournament 59 60 61 On 6 September 2017 at the final press conference Huck pushed Usyk in the face off In regards to the shove Huck said I wanted to show Usyk that he is in my hometown and that he should be prepared for the battle of his life on Saturday Usyk who remained professional and calm replied If you want to be a great champion you have to beat the best and Huck is one of the best I chose to enter this tournament because it is a path to achieve my dream of unifying all the belts There s a prestigious trophy at stake too the Muhammad Ali Trophy We were born on the same day and I admire Ali because he is the biggest role model in boxing and I will thank God if I win a trophy with his name on it 62 As he was leaving the building Usyk claimed he would bury Huck 63 On fight night Usyk used his footwork and combination punching to cruise to a TKO win On top of his dominant performance Usyk taunted Huck throughout the fight In round 8 Usyk tripped on Huck s feet and Huck lost a point on the scorecards as he threw a punch at Usyk when the latter was down Usyk continued to land combinations with little to no response from Huck until referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight in the tenth round With the win Usyk progressed to the semi final stage of the Super Series and was to face the winner of the Mairis Briedis vs Mike Perez scheduled for 30 September 64 65 Unified cruiserweight champion Usyk vs Briedis Usyk would next fight Mairis Briedis 23 0 18 KOs following the latter s win over Perez via unanimous decision 66 67 68 In November 2017 it was reported the fight would take place on 27 January 2018 in Riga Latvia a week before Gassiev vs Dorticos takes place 69 Arena Riga was confirmed as the location by Comosa s Chief Boxing Officer Kalle Sauerland 70 Usyk came in at 199 5 pounds and Briedis weighed 199 1 pounds 71 Usyk moved on to the final of the tournament after defeating Briedis via majority decision With a high work rate Usyk controlled most of the fight with his jab applying pressure when needed Briedis was credited with landing the harder punches The opening four rounds were closely contested with Usyk receiving a cut over his right eye from an accidental clash of heads in the third round From round five Usyk became busier and took control of the fight although he was still hit with some hard shots to the head from Briedis One judge scored the fight 114 114 whilst the remaining two judges scored the fight 115 113 in favour of Usyk giving him the win After the fight Usyk stated it was the hardest fight of his career 72 73 According to CompuBox Stats Usyk landed 212 of 848 punches thrown 25 and Briedis was more accurate landing 195 of his 579 thrown 33 7 Usyk landed 40 of his power punches 74 Many boxers and pundits praised the fight 75 Undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk vs Gassiev After Usyk defeated Briedis it was announced in the post fight press conference that the final would take place in Jeddah Saudi Arabia on 11 May 2018 76 However once Murat Gassiev 26 0 19 KOs stopped Yuniel Dorticos setting up the final the secretary general of the Russian Boxing Federation Umar Kremlev stated that he would push forward in order to outbid Saudi Arabia and have the final of the tournament take place in Russia on the Day of Russian Boxing on 22 July On 16 April it was reported that Usyk had suffered an elbow injury during training pushing the final to possibly June or July 2018 77 78 On 18 June at a press conference Kremlev announced the final would take place on 21 July at the Olympic Stadium Moscow Russia 79 On 29 June the final was officially confirmed 80 On the release date 7 000 tickets were sold 81 Both boxers came in at 198 45 pounds at the weigh in 82 Usyk quickly took control of the fight moving rapidly and using his beautiful commandeering jab Usyk controlled the fight not allowing Gassiev to use his power Gassiev did not land a solid punch until the end of round 2 According to many reports Usyk outclassed outboxed and dominated Gassiev The result was never in question as Usyk was declared the winner by unanimous decision with the judges scorecards reading 120 108 119 109 and 119 109 83 Muhammad Ali s widow Lonnie Ali presented the trophy to Usyk After the fight both combatants were exemplars of good sportsmanship embracing with Gassiev saying I had the best opponent of my professional career today is Oleksandr s day Usyk humbly adding My team made me look like I looked in the ring This is our victory The win made Usyk the first ever four belt undisputed cruiserweight champion 84 85 Usyk dominated throughout landing 252 of 939 thrown punches 27 compared to Gassiev s 91 landed of 313 thrown 29 Usyk used his superior conditioning to finish the fight also increasing his output by landing 47 of 117 punches thrown in round 12 Usyk managed to withstand the 32 power body shots he received and continued to move around the ring 86 When asked whom he would like to fight next Usyk said At this time I have heard that Tony Bellew wants to fight the winner of the Muhammad Ali Trophy I hope he will see me talking hey Tony Bellew are you ready If he doesn t want to go down in weight I will go up in weight for him I will eat more spaghetti for my dinner Also after the fight Usyk said Olympic stadium thanks People countrymen and those who supported Moscow 2018 Bang Daddy s in the building 87 88 Usyk vs Bellew After calling out Tony Bellew 30 2 1 20 KOs after winning the tournament Bellew responded via social media that he would accept the fight however he stated the fight would need to take place in 2018 and be for the undisputed cruiserweight championship Bellew believed a fight at heavyweight would not be as appealing as he would not gain much with a win Bellew also stated it would be his last fight as a professional 89 90 By the end of July it was said the fight would likely take place in November 2018 in London 91 After positive meetings between Bellew s promoter Eddie Hearn and K2 s Alexander Krassyuk on 20 August Boxing Scene reported the fight was likely to take place on 10 November 2018 92 93 A week later K2 Promotions confirmed the date of the fight 94 On 5 September the WBA ordered Usyk to start negotiating with Denis Lebedev 30 2 22 KO who was their champion in recess and gave them until the first week of October 2018 to complete negotiations 95 There was said to be a stumbling block for the potential Usyk vs Bellew fight According to Hearn the fight was likely to be pushed back to 2019 Prior to negotiations Bellew stated the fight must happen in 2018 96 97 On 7 September Usyk signed a multi fight deal with Matchroom Boxing which meant he would fight exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in USA The agreement meant Matchroom would co promote Usyk alongside K2 Promotions Usyk s next fight would be confirmed in the very near future according to Hearn 98 99 A week after signing with Matchroom the Usyk vs Bellew fight was announced to take place on 10 November at the Manchester Arena live and exclusive on Sky Box Office 100 101 Experienced British referee Terry O Connor was named as the official 102 Bellew weighed 199 1 4 pounds just over 2 years since he last made the cruiserweight limit and Usyk weighed 198 1 4 pounds 103 On fight night Usyk who is usually a slow starter eventually took full control of the bout and stopped Bellew in round 8 to retain all the cruiserweight belts The official time of the stoppage was at 2 00 of round 8 There was very little action in round 1 as both boxers showed each other respect It was a feeling out round Due to the lack of action the crowd began to boo towards the end of the first Overall Usyk landed just 3 jabs and Bellew landed 1 power shot Round 2 was similar however Bellew stepped on the gas managed to land some clean shots along with some showboating Bellew took control in round 3 landing two straight right hands Usyk began using his jab more and after landing an overhand left Bellew was left slightly shaken By the end of round 4 Bellew was backed up against the ropes and looked to tire Bellew aimed most of his shots to Usyk s body and by round 7 was missing a lot of shots mostly due to Usyk s foot movement and ended the round with a bloody nose In round 8 whilst in a neutral corner Usyk landed a hard left again buzzing Bellew forcing him to move away against the ropes Another left hand wobbled Bellew before Usyk finished him off with another left dropping Bellew backwards with his head landing on the bottom rope A brave Bellew tried to get up slowly and beat the count but referee Terry O Connor stopped the fight Bellew s 10 fight winning streak came to an end Judges Alejandro Cid and Steve Gray scored the first seven rounds 68 65 and 67 66 respectively in favour of Bellew and Yury Koptsev had the fight 67 67 entering round 8 104 105 Afterwards Bellew paid tribute to Usyk and announced his retirement from boxing saying I have been doing this for 20 years and it is over Usyk stated 2018 was the most difficult year of his career but most successful We need to put goals in front of us and move towards them Usyk later stated 106 107 There was a small concern during Bellew s post fight interview as many felt he was clearly concussed 108 According to CompuBox stats Usyk landed 112 of his 424 punches thrown 26 and Bellew landed 61 of his 268 thrown 23 Both landed 47 power shots each 109 Heavyweight I ve been boxing since I was 15 years old They kept telling me that I shouldn t be boxing They told me that I wouldn t become an Olympic champion or a world champion and that I shouldn t have switched to the heavyweight division But these were opinions from people who couldn t do it themselves Personally I keep praying and move forward I don t worry about whether I will reach my destination Usyk on his unusual career path 110 After defeating Bellew Usyk declared his intention to move up to heavyweight Carlos Takam 36 5 1 28 KO was announced as his opponent with the fight scheduled for 25 May 2019 On 7 May it was reported that Usyk had suffered a bicep injury The bout was rescheduled for a date in September to be featured on DAZN 111 On 22 August following the Golovkin vs Derevyanchenko press conference promoter Eddie Hearn revealed in an interview that Carlos Takam is out of the fight and will not be taking the fight 112 Usyk also had the option to challenge the winner of the rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua for the WBA Super IBF WBO and IBO heavyweight titles as the mandatory for the WBO belt as per WBO regulations which allow a super champion of a weight class to become an immediate mandatory challenger when moving up or down in weight 113 Usyk vs Witherspoon In September Usyk s heavyweight debut was announced to be on 12 October 2019 at the Wintrust Arena Chicago Illinois against Tyrone Spong 14 0 13 KOs 114 A few days before the fight Spong tested positive for a banned substance clomiphene and the fight was thrown into disarray Promoter Eddie Hearn said there were several backup fighters being considered 115 Spong s replacement was then announced as Chazz Witherspoon 38 3 29 KOs 116 Usyk won the fight as Witherspoon retired in his corner after round 7 117 Usyk vs Chisora Main article Oleksandr Usyk vs Derek Chisora On 11 March 2020 it was announced that Usyk would fight former world title challenger Derek Chisora 32 9 23 KOs on 23 May 2020 at The O2 Arena in London If successful Usyk would be first in line to fight for the WBO heavyweight title held by Anthony Joshua 118 As part of his preparation for his bouts Usyk sparred occasionally with former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko 119 The fight was pushed back to 31 October 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the venue was moved to The SSE Arena 120 On the night Usyk used his superior footwork and stamina to wear down his opponent and win a unanimous decision victory with scores of 117 112 115 113 115 113 Chisora had become worn and exhausted later on in the fight struggling to keep up with Usyk 121 In his post fight interview Usyk reiterated his desire to fight Joshua saying Anthony how are you I m coming for you Anthony 122 Unified heavyweight champion Usyk vs Joshua Main article Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for whom Usyk was the WBO mandatory challenger had been in negotiations to fight undefeated WBC and The Ring champion Tyson Fury 123 However when it appeared that Fury would instead be forced to face former WBC champion Deontay Wilder in a trilogy bout due to an arbitration ruling 124 the WBO gave Joshua s camp 48 hours to come to an agreement for the fight with Fury on 21 May 2021 or they would instead order Joshua to face Usyk Joshua and Fury s camps could not reach an agreement and thus on 22 May the WBO issued the instruction that Joshua would have to fight Usyk with an agreement for the bout to be in place by 31 May 125 Usyk reacted to these developments with a video message directed to Joshua s promoter Eddie Hearn telling him Eddie I want money more money 126 On 20 July an official announcement was made confirming that the fight between Usyk and Joshua would be taking place on 25 September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 127 Although many fans and pundits doubted Usyk would have the size or power to trouble Joshua Usyk produced an upset outboxing the champion and rocking him several times over 12 rounds to claim a unanimous decision victory with scores of 117 112 116 112 and 115 113 and retained his undefeated record Reflecting upon his performance in his post fight interview Usyk said This means a lot for me The fight went the way I expected it to go There were moments when Anthony pushed me hard but it was nothing special I had no objective to knock him out because my corner pushed me not to do that In the beginning I tried to hit him hard but then I stuck to my job 128 On 22 June it was announced that a rematch was scheduled to take place in Jeddah Saudi Arabia on 20 August with Usyk defending the WBA WBO and IBF championship belts and Joshua as the challenger 129 Usyk vs Joshua II Main article Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II On 29 September 2021 four days after Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua to become unified world heavyweight champion it was announced by his promoter Alexander Krassyuk that a one sided rematch clause which had been specified in the fight contract had already been activated in principle from the side of Joshua Krassyuk noted that Usyk relished the prospect of squaring off against Joshua twice So I remember when we discussed with Oleksandr the issue of rematch he was delighted and said Wow cool I will beat Antokha sic twice 130 Regarding the venue of the rematch Usyk made it known that he hoped it would take place in his native country of Ukraine saying I would love to have the rematch at Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv However Joshua s promoter Eddie Hearn stated that Ukraine was a very unlikely venue as he wanted to maximise income I think it will be international or the UK I would think it would be in the UK 131 With the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 a potential Usyk Joshua rematch was thrown into doubt In the days following the start of the invasion Usyk posted on his social media channels to confirm that he had returned to Ukraine and to plead with Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the invasion with one video captioned NO WAR 132 On 2 March Usyk confirmed in a video interview with American news network CNN that he had taken up arms and joined a territorial defence battalion in Ukraine Regarding his professional boxing career Usyk said I really don t know when I m going to be stepping back in the ring My country and my honour are more important to me than a championship belt 133 In late March it was reported that Usyk would be leaving Ukraine to begin preparations for the rematch with Joshua 134 135 Usyk revealed his decision to leave his homeland and refocus his efforts on boxing was supported by Mayor of Kyiv and former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko as well as his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko also a former heavyweight champion who had been defeated by Anthony Joshua in 2017 136 On 19 June 2022 it was officially announced that Usyk would be facing Joshua in a rematch in Jeddah Saudi Arabia on 20 August The fight marked the first defense of Usyk s world heavyweight titles whilst it was Joshua s twelfth consecutive world heavyweight title fight The fight was also an attempt by Joshua to become a three time world heavyweight champion 137 Despite Joshua s much improved performance compared to his first loss to Usyk 138 139 the latter successfully defended his belts by a split decision with one judge Glenn Feldman scoring the fight 115 113 to Joshua while the other two judges scoring it 115 113 and 116 112 in Usyk s favour The split decision was controversial as the majority of viewers expected a unanimous decision for Usyk 140 141 The Ring magazine called Glenn Feldman s scorecard horrible 139 Among those criticizing his judging were promoter Lou DiBella and boxing trainer Teddy Atlas 140 According to New York Times statistics Joshua landed 37 body punches compared to 15 in their first fight 142 Overall however Usyk outperformed Joshua landing 170 of 712 punches compared with 124 of 492 for Joshua 142 143 According to CompuBox Usyk established new records for punches landed by an opponent 170 and most punches landed on Joshua in a single round 39 punches in the 10th round 143 Usyk vs Dubois Main article Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois Usyk defended his unified heavyweight titles against WBA Regular champion Daniel Dubois on 26 August 2023 in Wroclaw Poland 144 While Usyk retained his titles via ninth round stoppage there was controversy surrounding the events of the fifth round when Usyk dropped to the canvas following a punch from Dubois that was controversially ruled a low blow by referee Luis Pabon Accordingly Usyk was given a maximum of five minutes to recover but despite declaring he was ready to continue Pabon urged Usyk to take more time out Usyk ultimately used three minutes and forty five seconds before the fight resumed Usyk forced Dubois to take a knee in the eighth round and again in the ninth round where he was counted out 145 146 According to CompuBox stats Usyk had outlanded Dubois in every round of the fight landing 88 of 359 punches thrown 24 5 to Dubois 47 of 290 16 2 Dubois failed to land double digits in any round of the fight 147 Debate subsequently followed regarding the fifth round low blow as many observers felt it should actually have been ruled a legal punch and thus potentially resulted in a KO victory for Dubois In his post fight interview Dubois opined I didn t think that was a low blow I thought that landed and I ve been cheated out of victory tonight However Usyk s promoter Alex Krassyuk argued The belly button is the line Anything low of that is a low blow This argument was echoed by others including boxers Tony Bellew and Liam Smith 148 149 150 Undisputed heavyweight championship Usyk vs Fury Main article Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk Usyk has been scheduled to face WBC champion Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight title in Riyadh Saudi Arabia 151 The fight contract signing was announced on September 29 2023 152 The fight was officially announced for 17 February 2024 on 16 November 2023 Personal lifeUsyk is married and has three children 153 They live in Kyiv Ukraine His wife has Russian citizenship and the boxer uses Russian as his first language 154 On 28 April 2014 after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Usyk declared he would never exchange his Ukrainian citizenship for Russian citizenship 155 In 2016 responding to a question if he can still enter Crimea he stated that he often visits his family in the peninsula that he does not like to talk politics due to the fact that people like to take words out of context that in Russia he has many fans and that he does not divide our peoples because we are Slavs 156 Afterwards whenever pressed on the question Usyk would often reply Crimea belongs to God 157 however in September 2022 Usyk stated that Crimea was is and will be Ukrainian and that it had been taken away forcefully from Ukraine 158 159 In November after Ukrainian Armed Forces recaptured Kherson Usyk posted a message on his Instagram account Donetsk is Ukraine Luhansk is Ukraine Zaporizhzhia is Ukraine Crimea is Ukraine Kherson is Ukraine Glory to Ukraine Glory to ZSU 160 In December 2020 it was announced that he will become a partner of WePlay Esports for the upcoming WePlay Ultimate Fighting League Esports host James Banks has this to say about Usyk s involvement in his DashFight interview He is helping us to bridge that gap between esports and actual real fighting in terms of boxing and what we can deliver I think it opens up a different avenue of where we can bring new people from outside of esports and also bring some people from esports to look back at boxing because it is a time loved sport MMA obviously is a big sport that people are talking about but boxing has always been the classic 161 Usyk is an Orthodox Christian After his fight against Anthony Joshua he said in an interview The only thing I wanted to do with this fight is to give praise to my Lord Jesus Christ and to say that all comes from him 162 On 26 February 2022 Usyk urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to call off Russia s invasion of Ukraine that had begun on 24 February 163 A few days later Usyk fellow boxer Vasiliy Lomachenko and Bellator MMA Welterweight Champion Yaroslav Amosov travelled to Ukraine to join the country s territorial defense forces 164 165 166 although in late March Usyk left Ukraine to train for his rematch with Anthony Joshua 167 In 2022 he became a co founder and brand ambassador of the Ready to Fight 168 international blockchain platform whose mission is to make building a boxing career easier and more accessible by creating effective connections between athletes managers agents doctors and other specialized professionals as well as sports services infrastructure and fans 169 In 2023 Usyk signed a one year professional contract with Ukrainian Premier League team FC Polissya Zhytomyr He was given the number 17 170 He had previously made a substitute appearance for the club in the 76th minute of a 2 1 friendly win over Veres in February 2022 171 Usyk has stated he intends to play football after he retires from boxing 172 Professional boxing record21 fights 21 wins 0 lossesBy knockout 14 0By decision 7 0No Result Record Opponent Type Round time Date Location Notes21 Win 21 0 Daniel Dubois KO 9 12 1 48 26 Aug 2023 Stadion Wroclaw Wroclaw Poland Retained WBA Super IBF WBO IBO and The Ring heavyweight titles20 Win 20 0 Anthony Joshua SD 12 20 Aug 2022 King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Saudi Arabia Retained WBA Super IBF WBO and IBO heavyweight titles Won vacant The Ring heavyweight title19 Win 19 0 Anthony Joshua UD 12 25 Sep 2021 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium London England Won WBA Super IBF WBO and IBO heavyweight titles18 Win 18 0 Derek Chisora UD 12 31 Oct 2020 The SSE Arena London England Won WBO Inter Continental heavyweight title17 Win 17 0 Chazz Witherspoon RTD 7 12 3 00 12 Oct 2019 Wintrust Arena Chicago Illinois US16 Win 16 0 Tony Bellew KO 8 12 2 00 10 Nov 2018 Manchester Arena Manchester England Retained WBA Super WBC IBF WBO and The Ring cruiserweight titles15 Win 15 0 Murat Gassiev UD 12 21 Jul 2018 Olympic Stadium Moscow Russia Retained WBC and WBO cruiserweight titles Won WBA Super IBF and vacant The Ring cruiserweight titles World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight final14 Win 14 0 Mairis Briedis MD 12 27 Jan 2018 Arena Riga Riga Latvia Retained WBO cruiserweight title Won WBC cruiserweight title World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight semi final13 Win 13 0 Marco Huck TKO 10 12 2 12 9 Sep 2017 Max Schmeling Halle Berlin Germany Retained WBO cruiserweight title World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight quarter final12 Win 12 0 Michael Hunter UD 12 8 Apr 2017 MGM National Harbor Oxon Hill Maryland US Retained WBO cruiserweight title11 Win 11 0 Thabiso Mchunu TKO 9 12 1 53 17 Dec 2016 The Forum Inglewood California US Retained WBO cruiserweight title10 Win 10 0 Krzysztof Glowacki UD 12 17 Sep 2016 Ergo Arena Gdansk Poland Won WBO cruiserweight title9 Win 9 0 Pedro Rodriguez TKO 7 12 1 57 12 Dec 2015 Palace of Sports Kyiv Ukraine Retained WBO Inter Continental cruiserweight title8 Win 8 0 Johnny Muller TKO 3 12 2 59 29 Aug 2015 Palace of Sports Kyiv Ukraine Retained WBO Inter Continental cruiserweight title7 Win 7 0 Andrey Knyazev TKO 8 10 2 24 18 Apr 2015 Palace of Sports Kyiv Ukraine Retained WBO Inter Continental cruiserweight title6 Win 6 0 Danie Venter TKO 9 10 2 29 13 Dec 2014 Palace of Sports Kyiv Ukraine Retained WBO Inter Continental cruiserweight title5 Win 5 0 Daniel Bruwer TKO 7 10 2 55 4 Oct 2014 Arena Lviv Lviv Ukraine Won vacant WBO interim Inter Continental cruiserweight title4 Win 4 0 Cesar David Crenz KO 4 8 2 19 31 May 2014 Sports Palace Odesa Ukraine3 Win 3 0 Ben Nsafoah KO 3 8 1 43 26 Apr 2014 Konig Pilsener Arena Oberhausen Germany2 Win 2 0 Epifanio Mendoza TKO 4 6 2 10 7 Dec 2013 Ice Arena TEC Terminal Brovary Ukraine1 Win 1 0 Felipe Romero TKO 5 6 1 36 9 Nov 2013 Palace of Sports Kyiv UkraineViewershipPay per view bouts No Date Fight Country Network Buys Source s 1 10 November 2018 Oleksandr Usyk vs Tony Bellew United Kingdom Sky Box Office 819 000 173 2 31 October 2020 Oleksandr Usyk vs Derek Chisora United Kingdom Sky Box Office 1 059 000 174 175 176 Ukraine MEGOGO 100 000 177 3 25 September 2021 Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk United Kingdom Sky Box Office 1 232 000 178 179 4 22 August 2022 Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II United Kingdom Sky Box Office 1 249 000 180 5 26 August 2023 Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois United Kingdom TNT Sports Box OfficeTotal sales 4 459 000International Date Fight Country Network Viewers Source20 August 2022 Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II Ukraine MEGOGO 1 500 000 181 Total viewership 1 500 000See alsoList of WBA world champions List of WBC world champions List of IBF world champions List of WBO world champions List of IBO world champions List of The Ring world champions List of world cruiserweight boxing champions List of world heavyweight boxing champions List of undisputed world boxing champions Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics List of Olympic medalists in boxingNotes World Boxing Association WBA Super version International Boxing Federation IBF and World Boxing Organization WBO titles WBA Super version World Boxing Council WBC IBF WBO and Ring magazine titlesReferences a b Sky Sports Box Office tale of the tape prior to the Anthony Joshua rematch Douglas Steve 25 September 2021 Usyk ends Joshua s reign as heavyweight champ Associated Press Archived from the original on 22 October 2021 Retrieved 25 September 2021 Fighter of the Year Sports Illustrated 12 December 2018 Archived from the original on 22 September 2023 Retrieved 11 June 2019 Aleksandr Usyk named ESPN 2018 fighter of the year ESPN 20 December 2018 Archived from the original on 4 December 2022 Retrieved 11 June 2019 ALEKSANDR USYK NAMED RING MAGAZINE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR 2018 ALL CATEGORY WINNERS REVEALED The Ring 28 December 2018 Archived from the original on 29 December 2018 Retrieved 29 December 2018 The Ring P4P Ratings The Ring Archived from the original on 3 February 2009 Retrieved 14 June 2022 TBRB P4P Rankings Transnational 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outpoints Perez for spot in WBSS semis ESPN com Archived from the original on 1 October 2017 Retrieved 1 October 2017 Usyk vs Briedis fight may happen on January 20 ringside24 com Archived from the original on 3 October 2017 Retrieved 3 October 2017 Briedis I would like to fight Usyk in Riga ringside24 com Archived from the original on 3 October 2017 Retrieved 3 October 2017 Gassiev Dorticos amp Usyk Briedis WBSS semifinal dates Boxing News Boxing News 24 26 November 2017 Archived from the original on 30 November 2017 Retrieved 27 November 2017 Briedis Usyk v Usyk v Briedis unification WBSS semi final set for Riga on Jan 27 WBN World Boxing News Archived from the original on 6 December 2017 Retrieved 6 December 2017 Photos Usyk Briedis Ready For WBSS Unification Showdown BoxingScene com Archived from the original on 22 September 2023 Retrieved 27 January 2018 Usyk Decisions Briedis in Tough Fight To Unify WBC WBO Titles BoxingScene com Archived from the original on 22 September 2023 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2019 Archived from the original on 8 May 2019 Retrieved 20 December 2019 EDDIE HEARN RESPONDS TO ANDY RUIZ amp ARUM SAUDI ARABIA RUBBISH INSISTS JOSHUA REMATCH A GO THERE archived from the original on 21 December 2021 retrieved 25 August 2019 WBO explain why Usyk is made mandatory for Ruiz vs Joshua rematch winner not Whyte talkSPORT 24 June 2019 Archived from the original on 22 May 2021 Retrieved 25 August 2019 Oleksandr Usyk set for heavyweight debut against former kickboxing star Tyrone Spong CBSSports com 3 September 2019 Archived from the original on 5 September 2019 Retrieved 5 September 2019 Tyrone Spong Oleksandr Usyk bout in doubt after adverse doping test 8 October 2019 Archived from the original on 9 October 2019 Retrieved 9 October 2019 Oleksandr Usyk to face 38 year old Chazz Witherspoon 8 October 2019 Archived from the original on 9 October 2019 Retrieved 9 October 2019 Oleksandr Usyk stops Chazz Witherspoon for easy victory in heavyweight debut CBSSports com 13 October 2019 Archived from the original on 26 September 2021 Retrieved 22 June 2021 Dereck Chisora to fight Oleksandr Usyk on 23 May in London BBC Sport 11 March 2020 Archived from the original on 18 June 2021 Retrieved 12 March 2020 I m going to fight amp smash Eddie Hearn Usyk reacts to Eddie Hearn wanting to make Joshua v Fury Behind The Gloves YouTube 13 March 2020 Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 Chisora vs Usyk now targeted for October says David Haye Sky Sports Archived from the original on 22 October 2021 Retrieved 23 May 2021 Usyk outboxes Chisora for decision victory targets AJ and Fury s belts talkSPORT 1 November 2020 Archived from the original on 1 November 2020 Retrieved 1 November 2020 Anthony I m coming for you Usyk warns Joshua after defeating Chisora archived from the original on 21 December 2021 retrieved 13 June 2021 Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have agreed terms for a two fight deal says promoter Eddie Hearn Sky Sports Archived from the original on 1 January 2021 Retrieved 23 May 2021 Wilder won t step aside for Fury Arum BBC Sport Archived from the original on 21 May 2021 Retrieved 23 May 2021 Joshua ordered to face challenger Usyk BBC Sport Archived from the original on 23 May 2021 Retrieved 23 May 2021 Oleksandr Usyk wants more money for Anthony Joshua fight Boxing News 24 19 May 2021 Archived from the original on 23 May 2021 Retrieved 23 May 2021 Joshua meets Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sep 25 Matchroom Boxing Archived from the original on 22 July 2021 Retrieved 22 July 2021 Oleksandr Usyk beats Anthony Joshua to take heavyweight titles Sky News Archived from the original on 25 September 2021 Retrieved 25 September 2021 Usyk Joshua share intense faceoff ready for rematch BY STEVE DOUGLAS AP SPORTS JUNE 22 2022 1 Oleksandr Usyk s team announce Anthony Joshua has activated rematch clause Sky Sports Retrieved 19 June 2022 permanent dead link The Athletic Staff Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk rematch Usyk wants it held in Ukraine The Athletic Archived from the original on 19 June 2022 Retrieved 19 June 2022 Oleksandr Usyk returns to Ukraine amid Russia invasion and posts NO WAR message talkSPORT 26 February 2022 Archived from the original on 8 August 2022 Retrieved 19 June 2022 Exclusive By Don Riddell 2 March 2022 My soul belongs to the Lord and my body and my honor to my country says heavyweight champion after joining Ukrainian defense battalion CNN Archived from the original on 19 June 2022 Retrieved 19 June 2022 Oleksandr Usyk leaving Ukraine to train for Anthony Joshua rematch The Independent 25 March 2022 Archived from the original on 19 June 2022 Retrieved 19 June 2022 Usyk leaves Ukraine preparing for rematch with Joshua AP NEWS 29 March 2022 Archived from the original on 19 June 2022 Retrieved 19 June 2022 Oleksandr Usyk gives first interview since leaving Ukraine to train for Anthony Joshua talkSPORT 6 April 2022 Archived from the original on 19 June 2022 Retrieved 19 June 2022 CONFIRMED Usyk vs AJ 2 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web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link I was cheated Dubois rages after defeat by Usyk BBC Sport Archived from the original on 27 August 2023 Retrieved 27 August 2023 Should distraught Dubois be world champion BBC Sport Archived from the original on 29 August 2023 Retrieved 29 August 2023 August 2023 Kerr Ferguson on 27th 27 August 2023 It Was Low Fighters React To Usyk Daniel Dubois Low Blow Controversy boxing social com Archived from the original on 29 August 2023 Retrieved 29 August 2023 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Iskenderov Parviz 30 September 2023 Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for undisputed title signed FIGHTMAG Archived from the original on 12 October 2023 Retrieved 30 September 2023 Sources Fury Usyk sign deal for winter clash ESPN com 29 September 2023 Archived from the original on 2 October 2023 Retrieved 30 September 2023 in Ukrainian Oleksandr s wife Katerina gave birth to a son Archived 2014 04 29 at the Wayback Machine Televiziyna Sluzhba Novyn 8 February 2013 Where is Oleksandr Usyk from Birthplace home country for heavyweight champion www sportingnews com 16 June 2022 Archived from the original on 25 June 2022 Retrieved 25 June 2022 in Ukrainian Usyk I am Ukrainian and Crimea is Ukrainian Archived 2014 04 29 at the Wayback Machine Ukrayinska Pravda Champion 28 April 2014 Usik Ya ne razdelyayu narody Ukrainy i Rossii ibo my slavyane Xsport ua in Russian 1 April 2016 Archived from the original on 25 December 2018 Retrieved 4 April 2016 Vstrecha s inoplanetyanami religiya Krym Zelenskij i karera v Gollivude Intervyu Gordona s Usikom Translyaciya gordonua com 19 April 2020 Archived from the original on 20 June 2021 Retrieved 19 January 2021 Usik Krim ce Ukrayina jogo prosto nahabno vidzhali korrespondent net in Ukrainian Archived from the original on 26 September 2022 Retrieved 27 September 2022 Usik Chij Krim Nash vin ukrayinskij 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Ucrania Mundo Deportivo in Spanish 28 February 2022 Archived from the original on 28 February 2022 Retrieved 28 February 2022 Ukraine invasion Ukrainian athletes fighting Russians include Vasiliy Lomachenko Oleksandr Usyk and the Klitschko brothers Sky Sports 1 March 2022 Archived from the original on 12 March 2022 Retrieved 12 March 2022 Segura Danny Bellator champion Yaroslav Amosov staying in Ukraine to help defend country USA TODAY Archived from the original on 23 March 2023 Retrieved 23 August 2022 Usyk leaves Ukraine to prepare for Joshua BBC Sport Archived from the original on 23 March 2022 Retrieved 23 March 2022 website READY TO FIGHT Archived from the original on 20 April 2023 Retrieved 20 April 2023 Oleksandr Usyk and QMALL announced the launch of an international platform to support boxers Archived from the original on 20 April 2023 Retrieved 20 April 2023 Usyk signs contract with Ukrainian football club ESPN com 20 July 2023 Retrieved 16 January 2024 Ridley Nathan 4 February 2022 Oleksandr Usyk makes professional football debut ahead of Anthony Joshua rematch The Mirror Retrieved 16 January 2024 Oleksandr Usyk says he will retire from boxing and switch sports if he beats Tyson Fury MARCA 14 November 2023 Retrieved 16 January 2024 Weekly viewing summary Sky Box Office Events buys between 5 November 2018 and 11 November 2018 Broadcasters Audience Research Board Archived from the original on 4 June 2019 Retrieved 27 November 2018 Weekly viewing summary Sky Box Office Events buys between 19 and 25 October 2020 C7 TV Set As Broadcast Broadcasters Audience Research Board Archived from the original on 22 December 2020 Retrieved 13 December 2020 Weekly viewing summary Sky Box Office Events buys between 26 October and 1 November 2020 C7 TV Set As Broadcast Broadcasters Audience Research Board Archived from the original on 22 December 2020 Retrieved 13 December 2020 Weekly viewing summary Sky Box Office Events buys between 2 and 8 November 2020 C7 TV Set As Broadcast Broadcasters Audience Research Board Archived from the original on 22 December 2020 Retrieved 13 December 2020 Boj Usik Chisora sobral 100 tysyach platnyh podpisok na MEGOGO Aleksandr Denisov ua tribuna com in Russian Archived from the original on 28 September 2021 Retrieved 1 August 2021 Weekly viewing summary Sky Box Office Events buys between 11 and 17 October 2021 C7 TV Set As Broadcast Broadcasters Audience Research Board Archived from the original on 28 November 2021 Retrieved 3 December 2021 Weekly viewing summary Sky Box Office Events buys between 20 September and 26 September 2021 C7 TV Set As Broadcast Broadcasters Audience Research Board Archived from the original on 28 November 2021 Retrieved 3 December 2021 Usyk vs Joshua 2 PPV numbers revealed Fury price rise expected World Boxing News 16 September 2022 Archived from the original on 30 September 2022 Retrieved 30 September 2022 Bij Usik Dzhoshua na Megogo divilisya 1 5 miljoni unikalnih glyadachiv in Ukrainian 24 August 2022 Retrieved 16 December 2023 External links nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oleksandr Usyk Official website Oleksandr Usyk at BoxRec registration required nbsp Oleksandr Usyk at Olympics com nbsp Oleksandr Usyk at Olympedia nbsp 2006 European Championships Results Olympic qualifier AIBA results for Olympic qualificationSporting positionsRegional boxing titlesNew title WBO Inter Continentalcruiserweight championInterim title4 October December 2014Promoted VacantVacantTitle last held byKrzysztof Glowacki WBO Inter Continentalcruiserweight championDecember 2014 17 September 2016Won world title VacantTitle next held byImre SzelloPreceded byDerek Chisora WBO Inter Continentalheavyweight champion31 October 2020 April 2021Vacated VacantTitle next held byJoseph ParkerMinor world boxing titlesPreceded byAnthony Joshua IBO heavyweight champion25 September 2021 present IncumbentMajor World boxing titlesPreceded byKrzysztof Glowacki WBO cruiserweight champion17 September 2016 5 June 2019Vacated Succeeded byKrzysztof GlowackiPreceded byMairis Briedis WBC cruiserweight champion27 January 2018 4 June 2019Vacated VacantTitle next held byIlunga MakabuPreceded byDenis Lebedev WBA cruiserweight championSuper title21 July 2018 27 March 2019Vacated Succeeded byDenis LebedevPreceded byMurat Gassiev IBF cruiserweight champion21 July 2018 15 June 2019Vacated VacantTitle next held byYuniel DorticosVacantTitle last held byYoan Pablo Hernandez The Ring cruiserweight champion21 July 2018 16 October 2019Vacated VacantTitle next held byMairis BriedisVacantTitle last held byO Neil Bell Undisputed cruiserweight champion21 July 2018 27 March 2019Titles fragmented VacantPreceded byAnthony Joshua WBA heavyweight championSuper title25 September 2021 present IncumbentIBF heavyweight champion25 September 2021 presentWBO heavyweight champion25 September 2021 presentVacantTitle last held byTyson Fury The Ring heavyweight champion20 August 2022 presentAwardsPrevious Vasiliy Lomachenko The Ring Fighter of the Year2018 Next Canelo AlvarezBWAA Fighter of the Year2018AchievementsPreceded byCanelo Alvarez The Ring pound for pound 1 boxer7 May 11 June 2022 Succeeded byNaoya InouePreceded byNaoya Inoue The Ring pound for pound 1 boxer20 August 2022 present Incumbent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oleksandr Usyk amp oldid 1196198340, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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