Oleksandr Usyk, the undefeated champion who once again challenges Anthony Joshua, seasoned in boxing and the cruelty of war

An Olympic title, an immaculate professional career, and an undisputed reign in the cruiser division were reasons enough to position him as an elite fighter. However, the figure of Oleksandr Usyk, which this Saturday will exhibit the heavyweight belts of the World Boxing Association, the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Organization to Anthony Joshua, has acquired a much larger dimension in the past 11 months. In part, for a sporting achievement. And partly because the war between his country and Russia created him a symbol of resistance for the Ukrainians.

“It is not the war itself that motivates me, it is the Ukrainian people who are fighting hard to defend our independence, freedom, culture,” the monarch explained in an interview published Tuesday in the British Daily Mail. Charismatic to the extreme, Usyk has been outgoing as usual since his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the fight will take place, but a little less smiling and rather thoughtful. The context has driven this change.

The world was very different on September 25 last year, when the then challenger defeated Joshua unquestionably at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in front of 66,267 spectators and he has removed the three belts that he will be able to play on Saturday. At that time, very few could locate Mariupol or Donetsk on a map and only a handful of leaders with the highest level of responsibility and some political analysts thought that the dispute between neighboring Russia and Ukraine, which had been going on for years, would led to a full-fledged war. .

Before that consecration night, southpaw Usyk had won Olympic gold in the heavyweight category in London 2012 (Joshua was heavyweight champion in those Games) and, already as a professional, he had overwhelmed the cruiser division. On the way to the four crowns, he got used to fighting and winning away from home: he won the WBO title against the Polish Krzysztof Glowacki in Gdansk, the World Boxing Council title against the Latvian Mairis Briedis in Riga and those of the WBA and IBF against the Russian Murat Gassiev in Moscow.

No longer challenged to 200 pounds, he has decided to move up in the category in 2019, despite his body being small in that universe dominated by giants that surpass him in height and size. He had two adaptation bouts against veterans Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora ​​before hitting the bell against Joshua. Thus, he emulated two compatriots, the brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, rulers of the top division for three decades; and he joined Evander Holyfield and David Haye on the short list of cruising weight champions who also managed to reign among the complete ones.

And then the war broke out.

It was February 24, the very day when Yelizaveta, the eldest daughter (she also has two sons: Kyrylo and Mykhalio), turns 12. She «she She cried a little, of course. My wife talked to him, she explained what had happened. It was difficult, but she understood very well what we were all facing in Ukraine, “she said in an interview with The Guardian.

Already at that point there was talk of revenge with Joshua which had been confirmed just two weeks after the victory in London (the contract of the first duel provided for an automatic rematch clause). However, Usyk joined the Kiev territorial defense battalion and his career was put on hold. “My country and my honor are more important than any title. Now I have to fight (Vladimir) Putin for the freedom of my nation. My soul belongs to the Lord and my body and my honor belongs to my country, to mine. family, said the champion, a devout Christian, during an interview with CNN from a basement in the Ukrainian capital.

However, at the end of March he left his country to begin his preparation for confrontation with Joshua. He did so despite the fact that when military hostilities began, the government of Volodymyr Zelensky had decreed general mobilization for 90 days, so that all men between the ages of 18 and 60 had to remain on Ukrainian soil as they could be recruited if necessary. Usyk received the authorization from the Minister of Sport Vadym Gutzeit. For the authorities, the contribution he could make as a public figure was more valuable than as a militiaman.

Since the beginning of the war, the boxer’s support for politics and for Zelensky has been unconditional. “When a difficult situation arises, many people try to escape. Our president didn’t run away. They offered him help to escape, to get out of Ukraine, but he stayed. He refused to leave his people without hope. I’m pretty sure if we had someone else as president, we wouldn’t have moved in the positive direction we have, “he said this week.

In recent months, the champion has launched the Usyk Foundation, “created to help Ukrainians affected by Russian aggression”, as his website explains (although his donations have been directed not only to civilians, but also to the Armed Forces). Forces) and partnered with the British platform Blockasset, which launched a collection of digital artwork from 2,000 items with your image. The goal is to collect two million dollars for your foundation In addition, it has negotiated that Saturday evening, which in much of the planet will be marketed under the pay-per-view format (in the UK it will cost 26.95 pounds), can be watched on open television in Ukraine.

As the date of the fight approached, Usyk raised his profile and took advantage of every public appearance to strengthen the position of his government. “Some people are not doing enough to help Ukraine. Many people are hiding and hoping that the war does not hit them. But it’s not possible because it will affect everyone in some way. We should all pay attention to what is happening and do something “, he asked in these days, in tune with Zelenski’s constant demands on the international community.

A blue and yellow T-shirt decorated with the “colors of freedom” was his ubiquitous garment until Wednesday, when he upped the ante and attended the last press conference dressed in traditional Cossack clothing. After face-to-face with Joshua, he took the center of the dais and intoned: a cappella and in chorus with his team, “Oi u luzi chervona kalyna”, a folk song whose lyrics were composed by the poet Stepan Charnetsky more than a century ago and which became a hymn of the Ukrainian resistance.

In his latest presentations in the Middle East, where he is accompanied by his wife Ekaterina (they have been married since 2009), this undefeated champion of 35 years (won his 19 professional fights), tanned the harshness of boxing from childhood and the cruelty of war This last time, he carried a stuffed animal in his arms. Who? Lelik, the donkey of his daughter Yelizaveta.

“We bought it when we were together at Disneyland Paris,” Usyk said. When we left Ukraine and our paths in Europe parted, she gave it to me to be my talisman. She told me I had to have him with me. That’s why she is always close. I sleep with him. I don’t know if he’ll be in my corner in the fight because he might get scared, but he’ll definitely be in my locker room. “