Alexander Usyk

Childhood

The history of the future athlete began on January 17, 1987 in Simferopol. By the time he was born, his daughter Victoria, born in her mother's first marriage, was already growing up in the family. Later, the parents gave the celebrity a younger brother.In the early years of his biography, Sasha was painful, so the doctor advised him to take him to sports. Usyk tried judo and folk dancing, and achieved real success in football. He played for the Tavria youth team, but his family did not have the money to pay for uniforms and trips to tournaments.As a teenager, Alexander decided to switch to boxing, but at first they did not want to accept him into the section. Fateful for the star was the acquaintance with coach Sergei Lapin, who undertook to make a champion of the young man. According to Usyk's recollections, the first lesson turned out to be unsuccessful, and he got badly hurt. But it became a motivation for hard work.After the defeat, the boxer did not spare himself in the gym. He came there at 3 p.m., and left at 7, using every minute to practice strikes. Familiar guys laughed at the athlete, but he did not pay attention to them, because his efforts gave results.

By the end of school, Alexander already knew for sure that he would connect his life with sports. Later he graduated from Lviv State University of Physical Culture.

Amateur career

The novice boxer made his first career successes when he was 19 years old. He started his way to the top, performing in the weight category up to 75 kg. At this level, the celebrity managed to win a gold medal at the Ukrainian championship and a bronze at the European championship.In 2008, Alexander moved to light heavyweight. That year was marked for him by a victory in the Strange Cup, which allowed him to go to the Olympic Games. There, the boxer was already performing as a heavyweight, but he could not bring home a gold medal. But he was awarded the 2nd place at the World Cup.

The second chance to compete for the main prize of the Olympics fell to the star 4 years later, in 2012. By that time, the victory at the World Championship in Baku was already in the piggy bank of his achievements. The final of the Games in London was spectacular: Usyk defeated Clemente Russo, after which he danced hopak right in the ring.

The triumph was overshadowed by the sudden death of his father. Before the tragic event, the young boxer planned to continue his career in the United States, but could not leave his family. As a result, he began to cooperate with the "Ukrainian atamans", and then reached the level of professionals.

Professional boxing

Representatives of various promotional organizations wanted to work with the promising athlete, but he preferred the company of brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko K2 Promotions. James Ali Bashir was appointed the boxer's coach. After learning about this, the mentor said that for the sake of working with Usyk, he was ready to move not only to Ukraine, but also to the Moon.The professional's debut took place at the Kiev Sports Palace. His opponent was Mexican Felipe Romero, who lost to the Ukrainian already in the 5th round. In subsequent years, Usyk never tired of pleasing fans, because there were no defeats in his statistics.In October 2014, a significant duel for the athlete took place. He met Daniel Brewer, whose victory earned him the title of interim WBO Inter-Continental champion. Alexander later secured the title when he defeated Danny Venter. The boxer spent the next fights to protect the belt and each time came out victorious.No less important was the fight with Krzysztof Glowacki, who brought Usyk the title of world champion in the 1st heavyweight according to the WBO version. The grueling fight lasted 12 rounds, but as a result, the judges unanimously gave the victory to the athlete from Ukraine.The triumphant battle turned out to be the 10th for Usyk, which became a new record. The previous record holder, Evander Holyfield, managed to achieve the championship in the 12th professional duel.Alexander won his next title in 2018, fighting against Mairis Briedis. He left the ring with the title of WBC world champion. But the pinnacle of his career in the 1st heavyweight division was a fight with Russian Murat Gasiev, which took place in the final of the WBSS tournament. After that, his piggy bank of awards was replenished with the IBF and WBA (super) belts, as well as the Muhammad Ali Cup and The Ring title.Having received the status of the absolute champion, Usyk did not stop there. Having defended the titles in a fight with American Tony Bellew, whom he defeated by knockout, the Ukrainian said that he was moving into the heavyweight category. His first opponent was Chazz Witherspoon, who was defeated.

The boxer's next opponent was the Briton Dereck Chisora. But their duel was repeatedly postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Trying to raise morale during the stagnation, the boxers exchanged funny videos and photos on the pages of Instagram accounts, challenging each other to fight. The posts went viral, and fans called it "the cutest trash."

In order for the meeting to take place, both athletes refused part of the fee. Preparation for the duel was conducted with all precautions. Alexander passed a coronavirus test and for some time was forced to train right at the hotel. This did not prevent the Ukrainian from winning. After that, it was planned that he would meet Joe Joyce, but there were problems with the organization of the fight.On September 25, 2021, in London, Alexander Usyk entered a title fight against the world champion in four versions (WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO), the British boxing superstar Anthony Joshua. It is noteworthy that both boxers are gold medalists of the London 2012 Olympics.

Despite the status of an underdog, Alexander took a clear advantage from the first round, easily outplaying Joshua due to mobility on his feet, manual speed and excellent technique in defense. Joshua tried to work with a jab from a long distance, but clearly did not have time to react to the opponent's actions, missed a lot of punches and periodically looked completely helpless. In the sixth and eighth rounds, the champion managed to deliver several solid blows to the target, but this did not change the overall picture of the fight. In the later rounds, the fight turned into a one-sided beating - Joshua could no longer oppose anything to a fresher opponent and periodically "swam" from missed punches and accumulated fatigue. In the last seconds of the 12th round, Usyk made a multi-punch combination to the opponent's head and was very close to an early victory, but the gong saved the Briton from a knockout.

As a result, all three judges with a score of 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 gave victory to Alexander Usyk, who took away all Joshua's championship titles and became the joint world champion in two weight categories. For the absolute heavyweight championship, Alexander lacks only the WBC title, which is owned by the undefeated Briton Tyson Fury.

Immediately after the fight, Anthony Joshua announced that he would activate an immediate rematch with Usyk, which should take place in the spring of 2022.

Personal life

Alexander does not hide information about his personal life and willingly talks about his family during an interview. He met his future wife Ekaterina while studying at school, and in 2009 the lovers got married. Three children were born in the marriage: Elizabeth, Kirill and Mikhail. The athlete's daughter is engaged in dancing, the eldest son in football, and the youngest in tennis. The star father uses every free minute to be with the heirs and support their initiatives.

Interesting facts

A boxer is a believer, attends church and always prays before a fight.

Alexander is fond not only of sports, but also of creativity. He writes poems, which he shares with Instagram account subscribers.

The star has several tattoos, the first of which — a Spartan warrior - he filled after the Ukrainian championship in 2007. Later, Olympic rings, the coat of arms of Ukraine, the archangel and the names of children appeared on his body.

Usyk is a football fan. Among his favorite teams are Tavria and Dynamo.

An incredibly cool athlete and person!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (/ˈʊsik/; OO-sik; Ukrainian: Олекса́ндр Олекса́ндрович У́сик; Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович У́сик; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles since defeating Anthony Joshua in September 2021; and the undisputed cruiserweight title from 2018 to 2019, being the first cruiserweight champion to hold all four major world titles. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Ukrainian boxers of all time. With his victory over Joshua, 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.[3]