One of the greatest Ukrainian boxers of all time: Who is Oleksandr Usyk?

The boy, who was born in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, in 1987, started boxing when he was 15 years old. He lost his first match. He worked hard and was the first to enter the hall and the last to leave. His friends made fun of him for working so much at his age. Maybe boxing wasn't the right thing for him. But giving up from the first day was not for someone with Kozak genes. Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk made the best decision of his life and continued boxing.

In 2006, 19-year-old Usyk represented Ukraine at the European Championships in Bulgaria. While he managed to defeat Badou Jack, one of today's stars, on the way to the semi-finals, he was defeated by Matt Korobov. In the same year, he entered the ring with another star named, Shawn Porter (WBC World Champion), in the double matches against the USA and lost the match 20-23. The interesting thing was that the matches were middleweight competitions.

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (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 cruiserweight championship from 2018 to 2019, being the first boxer in that division to hold all four major world titles.

A year later, Usyk moved up to lightweight and started fighting at light heavyweight. In 2007, in his first encounter with a familiar face, Artur Beterbiev (IBF World Champion), he submitted to his Russian opponent. At that time, Usyk was a talented, promising young boxer who did not yet show superstar potential. He moved up to lightweight again for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and started fighting in the heavyweight division. Passed the Olympic qualification; He finally managed to go to Beijing for the gold medal, which was his dream. His opponent in the quarter-finals in China was the famous Italian boxer Clemente Russo. While Usyk was the one to return home early, another match with a rematch was written on the books.

Every amateur boxer's dream is to win the championship at the Olympics. While Usyk's close friend Lomachenko was the person who made this dream come true in Beijing, Crimean Usyk decided to change some things in his life. There is a saying in the movie "Unlimited" starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, "The secret of success is tidying up the house." Usyk also took the first step by marrying his wife Yekaterina. He got his life in order with the decision to marry and then move to Kyiv. He started working with Anatoly, the father of his close friend Vasyl Lomachenko. Afterward, it was as if he had taken that mysterious pill in the movie that unusually increased his IQ level. There were no limits anymore for Usyk.

The turning point in Oleksandr Usyk's career was after the Beijing Olympics. He took his first step in 2008 in Liverpool, becoming the European champion in the 91-kilo category. In 2011, he became the world champion in Azerbaijan by first defeating Tervel Pulev and then taking the rematch from Artur Beterbiev and crossing out the first name he noted in his notebook. Next was the biggest stage and a second rematch. At the 2010 London Olympics, he defeated Beterbiev for the second time on his way to the final and brought the score to 2-1. Then he beat Tervel Pulev again. His opponent in the final was Clement Russo, whom he defeated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and who also defeated Deontay Wilder in that tournament. Russo was still that Russo, but Usyk had changed a lot from Beijing to London. When Usyk won the match and the Olympic gold, he could not understand what he had achieved at first and was astonished for a short time. Then he fell to the canvas and was thankful. When he stood up, he was dancing. He danced at the end of the match, just like he did in the ring. Usyk celebrated his much-desired gold medal in front of thousands of British spectators with the Gopak dance, a symbol of Kozak culture.

After the Olympic championship, he had nothing left to prove in amateur boxing. Professional offers came from many promoters. The offer from the USA was very attractive, but he did not want to leave his family because he lost his father at that time. As a result of this sacrifice, he and his team participated in the WSB tournament, where they achieved significant gains on behalf of "Ukrainian Atamans". Ataman was the name the Cossacks gave to their leaders. Usyk also showed significant leadership throughout the tournament as team captain. The current professional beat Rio 2016 Olympic runner-up Joe Joyce 3-0. He applied the same tariff to Magomedrasul Majidov and Mihai Nistor, who beat Anthony Joshua in his amateur career.

Usyk, who dropped a gold coin every time he hit the bricks in the rings like Super Mario, won the European, World, and Olympic gold medals respectively. After a while, he learned to play this game so well that he passed the levels without losing any lives. But now the era of mushrooms and turtles is over. In the last episode, he had to pass unpredictable dragons with fire coming out of their mouths.

Now it's time. Oleksandr Usyk was too much for amateur boxing. His stage, his battlefield had to be top-notch. He was a professional in this game. He turned professional in 2013 with the Los Angeles-based K2 promotion company managed by Tom Loeffler. He made an agreement with coach James Ali-Bashir and played his first match in Kyiv in November. In 2016, he competed for the WBO Cruiserweight Title in just his tenth professional match. While he beat Polish Krzysztof Glowacki away, he also became the boxer who reached the world championship in the shortest time in semi-heavyweight history. Then, he easily passed the matches against Mchunu and Michael Hunter in the USA. Appearing in matches with his Kozak hairstyle and songs, and posing with the Ukrainian flag every time, made him one of the most popular athletes in his country. He did not hesitate to share his nationalist stance with the public by visiting soldiers on the eastern border of Ukraine.

As Oleksandr Usyk's unstoppable rise continues, it has been announced that the Muhammad Ali Tournament will be held in 2017. In the tournament held in two weights, there would be eight boxers in each weight, and the boxer who won all his matches with the single-match elimination system would receive both the cup and the titles. Four champions of the four major semi-heavyweight federations, including Usyk, also participated in the tournament. It's not often in professional boxing that title holders meet so often, as no boss wants to slaughter his goose. Therefore, for Usyk, the Ali Tournament was the opportunity of a lifetime.

The fact that the tournament was named after his idol was another motivation for him. Usyk, just like Muhammad Ali, was born on January 17. He moves like Ali in the ring. He used his feet very well, his punches went directly to his opponent's face like a machine. With the Ali Cup, he was presented with a unique opportunity to prove that he was the best in his weight class; He didn't turn down this chance either.

The first opponent was German Marco Huck. The former champion of Bosnian origin passed in the first round in Germany. It had become a tradition for Usyk to play important matches away. For this reason, he was also called the "Road Warrior". In the semi-final match, he faced the WBC champion of the four major weights, Mairis Briedis, in Latvia, again at his opponent's home. At the end of the match, he was smiling at the cameras with his WBC and WBO belts on his shoulders and his loose teeth. All that was left were the WBA and IBF belts. The owner of these two belts was North Ossetian Russian, Murat Gassiev. Gassiev was a tough boxer known for his punching power. Usyk did not break the away tradition. He faced his Russian opponent in Russia. He showed his superior boxing skills to the whole world for twelve rounds. In the last round of the match, he saluted his idol and performed the footwork known as the Ali Shuffle. He unified all the belts when he defeated Gassiev by unanimous decision. He received the cup from Muhammad Ali's wife, Lonnie Ali.

He became the first cruiserweight boxer in history to unify four major belts. He was the fourth boxer to unify all four major belts in his weight class, along with Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins, and Terence Crawford. He made an Evander Holyfield impact as the undisputed champion in the cruiserweight division.

After winning the Ali Cup, his biggest goal would be to move up to a higher weight class, just like Holyfield, and achieve the same success in the heavyweight division. Usyk, who, along with Lomachenko, is one of the greatest boxers trained by Ukraine after the Klitschko brothers, did not reject the challenge of Englishman Tony Bellew after the Gassiev match and did not break the away tradition and went to Manchester. In his statement, Usyk did not hesitate to state that his ultimate goal is to face Anthony Joshua and that the Bellew match will only be a stepping stone on the road to Anthony Joshua.

Usyk returned in 2013 following his win over Tony Bellew. A lot had changed in five years; His family expanded with children named Kiril, Mikhail, and Liza. He became more known all over the world, became a national hero in his country, and had more money. But what didn't change was that the sky was the limit for him. After winning everything there was to win in the amateur, he also won all the successes in his own weight in the professional. He collected all the gold and passed all the sections. Usyk is now on the verge of his toughest challenge; He is looking to beat the dragon, close the game, and defeat the boss Anthony Joshua...

And after

Usyk is considered one of the greatest Ukrainian boxers of all time. With his victory over Anthony Joshua in 2021, Usyk became one of three boxers, along with Evander Holyfield and David Haye, to unify the cruiserweight world titles and become world heavyweight champions.

In his amateur career, Usyk won heavyweight gold medals at the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics. He turned professional in 2013 and won the undisputed cruiserweight championship in his 15th professional fight in 2018. He won three of his championships during the inaugural World Boxing Super Series, where he won the Ring and cruiserweight titles, as well as the Muhammad Ali Cup. For his accomplishments, Usyk was named the 2018 Fighter of the Year by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Ring, and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).

In 2018, Usyk became the fourth male boxer in history to hold the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles simultaneously, after Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins, and Terence Crawford. He became the first undisputed champion of Ukraine. He is particularly notable for the speed of his successes, winning his first world title in his tenth bout and becoming the undisputed champion of his weight class in his fifteenth bout. Usyk relinquished his cruiserweight titles to move up to heavyweight in 2019. Up to this point, he had defeated five current or former world champions in sixteen fights.

August 2022

Oleksandr Usyk came back from the war and retained his title

Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk defeated Great Britain's Anthony Joshua and retained the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Organization (WBO), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and International Boxing Organization (IBO) heavyweight belts.

In the heavyweight title match held at the Super Dome Hall in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Usyk, who won all 19 matches he fought, faced Joshua, who won 24 of the 26 matches in his career. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also watched the rematch.

Although 32-year-old Joshua fought more aggressively compared to the first match, Usyk left the ring victorious by a majority vote at the end of 12 rounds. While two of the referees gave Usyk high scores (115-113 and 116-112), one referee voted in favor of Joshua (115-113).

Usyk, who holds the heavyweight belts of four of the five major professional boxing organizations (WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO), thus retained his titles.

Usyk is 35 years old. After the fight, he said, "I dedicate this victory to my country, my family, my team, and the entire army that defends this country." he said.

“I'm sure Tyson Fury hasn't retired yet and wants to fight me.” The Ukrainian boxer called on British Fury, who holds the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight belt, to fight.

July 2023

The date of the match between world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois has been announced

The time of the historical match that boxing enthusiasts and sports lovers have been eagerly awaiting has been announced. The match between world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois will take place on August 26. Usyk will try to defend his 5 belts in this match.

The date of the match that boxing enthusiasts and sports fans have been eagerly awaiting has been announced. World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk will face Daniel Dubois on August 26 to defend the WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight belts. In the highly anticipated match, Dubois will use his quota to face Usyk.

Two giant boxers will face each other on August 26 in the match to be held in Poland. World heavyweight boxing champion Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk will compete with British heavyweight boxer Daniel Dubois. Oleksandr Usyk will try to defend all 5 belts in this match and Dubois will use his quota to face Usyk. Boxing fans are looking forward to the match. Here are the details…

USYK WILL STAND TO PROTECT THEIR BELT

World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk will face British boxer Daniel Dubois on August 26 in a fight to be hosted by Poland. In this match, Usyk will step into the ring to defend the World Boxing Association (WBA) "Super", World Boxing Organization (WBO), International Boxing Federation (IBF), International Boxing Organization (IBO) and "The Ring" magazine heavyweight belts. Daniel Dubois will use his quota to face Usyk in this match.

Oleksandr Usyk had previously won these titles by defeating American boxer Anthony Joshua in September 2021. Oleksandr Usyk, who later entered the ring with Joshua once again in August 2022, managed to win this match by the majority vote of the referees.

WON ALL 20 MATCHES

On the other hand, 25-year-old Daniel Dubois of Great Britain, who won the WBA "Regular" belt by knocking out American Trevor Bryan and reached the quota to face Usyk, stated in his previous statement that he would use this legal right.

36-year-old world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk won all 20 matches, 13 of which were knockouts. On the other hand, Dubois suffered his only defeat in his 19 matches against his British opponent Joe Joyce, and won all of his remaining 18 matches by knockout.

August 2023

Ukrainian boxer Usyk defeated Daniel Dubois in the heavyweight boxing match

British boxer Daniel Dubois and Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk met at the Tarczynski Arena Stadium in Wroclaw.

British boxer Daniel Dubois and Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk fought in the WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight boxing match at the Tarczynski Arena Stadium in Wroclaw, Poland.

Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk won the match.