Ahead of Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed heavyweight showdown with Daniel Dubois on Saturday, July 19, at Wembley Stadium, Sporting News have listed five top facts about the history-making Ukrainian.
The 38-year-old future Hall of Famer continues to break boxing records, and could smash another one if he beats Dubois for a second time in the first-ever undisputed heavyweight match to take place on UK soil.
Not only did he win European, World and Olympic gold medals in his amateur career that saw him win 335 from 350 bouts, but he went on to be crowned as the first-ever cruiserweight and heavyweight undisputed champion in a four-belt era.
Despite all his accolades and moments in the spotlight, here are five facts about Oleksandr Usyk that you probably didn’t already know:
1. Oleksandrovych Usyk was born on the same day as his hero, Muhammad Ali, on January 17, but 45 years apart in 1987.
2. Growing up on a farm in Simferopol, he helped with the cattle, collected fruits (apricots and peaches) to sell, and also worked as an ice cream vendor – the same job his friend Vasily Lomachenko also used to do.
3. His first sporting love was actually football. He played for Ukrainian Premier League side SC Tavriya Simferopol. He played in goal up to the age of 15, but the costs that came with being in their academy setup became too expensive for his parents, so he switched to boxing in 2002. His nickname, ‘The Cat’, actually comes from his footballing background.
4. Usyk is a movie star! Oleksandr has played the voice in animated film, ‘The Stolen Princess’. He plays the voice of one of two Troyeschyna gangsters, alongside strongman competitor, Vasyl Virastyuk.
5. The two-weight undisputed champion is married to Yekaterina Usyk (Kateryna for short) and they have four children together – sons Kyrylo and Mykhalio, and daughters Yelizaveta and Maria. They married in 2009 after a number of years together and she runs the Usyk Foundation, a charitable organisation created to support Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
Read the full article here